Medical director: More residents opting out of vaccinations, threatening 'herd immunity'

OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County’s medical director said more residents in 2024 opted out of some or all recommended vaccinations, which likely will increase after recent guideline changes made by the Trump Administration went into effect late last year. 

Dr. Gwen Unzicker said data for 2025 has not yet been released, but verified that the 5.7 percent waiver rate as of the end of 2024 is the highest it’s been in Ottawa County.

“To clarify, that’s a number that encompasses waivers for multiple different types of vaccines, with rates that vary across different parts of the county. But it’s an overall indication that more people are opting out of some or all recommended vaccinations,” Unzicker said. 

However, despite a sweeping federal reduction in recommended childhood vaccinations, Michigan’s legal requirements for school entry remain unchanged, she said.

Unzicker, addressing the Ottawa County commissioners during a Jan. 20 meeting of the board of commissioners’ Planning & Policy Committee, clarified the local impact of the Trump Administration’s recent decision to overhaul the national immunization schedule. 

On Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced its routine recommendations from 17 diseases to 11, reclassifying common shots for the flu, rotavirus, and hepatitis B as optional or targeted only for "high-risk" individuals through "shared clinical decision-making."

"Michigan's school vaccination requirements haven't changed," Unzicker told commissioners. "While the CDC moved two of Michigan’s six required school vaccines — hepatitis B and meningococcal (meningitis) — into different recommendation categories, Michigan's requirements are established by state law, not federal CDC guidance."

Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, has already formally advised the state’s healthcare providers to bypass the new federal guidelines in favor of schedules set by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. 

Terming it a "duty to protect" public health, Bagdasarian issued a standing recommendation on Sept. 25 that maintains the previous standard of care, arguing that federal rollbacks lack the "rigorous review" found in professional medical schedules. Michigan joins over a dozen states, including California and Pennsylvania, in officially endorsing these independent clinical standards to ensure vaccine accessibility.

"In December, Michigan’s chief medical executive issued a standing recommendation directing providers to follow AAP and AAFP schedules, noting that Michigan isn't bound to follow ACIP," Unzicker noted. "The federal policy shifts may create some confusion for families and could potentially affect access through pharmacies and insurance — this hasn’t happened yet — but Michigan's school immunization requirements operate independently of CDC recommendations."

Still, some commissioners had questions.

Commissioner Kendra Wenzel, who belongs to the far-right political group Ottawa Impact, asked Unzicker if parents received documents “to decode all of the substances that are used in the vaccines, but not listed on the final product."

“We give the vaccine information sheets and we provide the manufacturer information. Everything that's required by the federal guidelines is what we provide,” Unzicker responded. “If you have a specific resource that you found in your research, please feel free to pass that along to us.”

Wenzel pressed further, asking about what information is available online.

“Does the online education educate the public on what can happen to a child from the approximately 70 different additives that can and do harm children?" she asked.

Unzicker explained that the education is “based on the evidence-based scientific available information, including manufacturer information.”

“If you'd like to share (your) information so that we can learn from it together, I'd welcome that,” Unzicker said.

Unzicker told Ottawa News Network that vaccines for preventable diseases are the best way to protect the community’s health from outbreaks that could lead to serious health repercussions. 

“There's no new scientific evidence showing that vaccine-preventable diseases have become less serious or that vaccines themselves have become less effective or have new risks associated with them,” she said in a Monday statement. 

“So, from a medical standpoint, our recommendations haven't changed: The most effective way to protect individuals and our community from vaccine-preventable diseases is to talk with your healthcare provider about which vaccines are recommended for you and your family.”

The discussion comes at an interesting time for Ottawa County.

Unzicker said that local vaccination coverage has dipped below the 95% threshold typically required for community protection, more commonly known as “herd immunity.” This decline increases the vulnerability of the community to outbreaks, such as measles cases recently identified in neighboring counties.

Although the county’s health department provides immunization services and population-level recommendations, Unzicker was careful to define the limits of her agency's authority. 

The department does not set school requirements — a power held by the state legislature — nor does it have the authority to deny school enrollment.

Addressing the board’s interest in streamlining services, Unzicker announced that the county is in the final stages of launching an online waiver education portal. This will allow parents seeking non-medical exemptions to complete state-mandated education from home. 

The committee’s discussion on Jan. 20 concluded with a promise from the health department to notify commissioners as soon as the online portal goes live, which is expected in the coming weeks.

However, state law still requires parents to visit the health department in person to sign the official certificate.

"We fulfill our public health mission while respecting individual autonomy," Unzicker said. "Our role is to provide accurate information, quality services when families want them, and respect for the decisions families make.

“We all share the same goal — keeping our children and community as safe and healthy as possible.”

— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at hvandyke@ottawanewsnetwork.org.