FILE PHOTO: A vial of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and an information sheet is seen at Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
(Reuters) – Researchers have documented a drop in child vaccination rates in Michigan since restrictions were imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, raising concern about outbreaks of other diseases such as measles, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report on Monday.
The findings by the CDC researchers indicated that stay-at-home orders during the pandemic like those imposed in Michigan and other U.S. states may be reducing accessibility to routine immunization services and exposing children to risks from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Data from Michigan’s state immunization information system show