ALPENA — Michigan’s leading health experts are urging families with children to get caught up on all recommended vaccines as soon as they can.

Fewer Michigan children are currently up to date on their routine vaccines because of postponed well-child visits during the pandemic, according to state health officials.

Joshua Meyerson, medical director for the District Health Department No. 4, previously told The News there was “a major decrease” in the number of immunizations given to patients by the Health Department this spring.

He said public health officials with the state of Michigan reported a 44% reduction in immunizations administered in May, compared to the numbers of immunizations administered in May of 2018 and 2019.

Immunization rates in Michigan had already been declining for two years straight. In Northeast Michigan, the numbers of fully immunized toddlers decreased between 2017 and 2018, according to data from the Michigan League for Public Policy.

Approximately 80.1% to 84.9% of toddlers in Alpena and Alcona counties and 75% to 80% of toddlers in Montmorency and Presque Isle counties were fully immunized in 2017.

Those figures decreased in 2018, when approximately 75 to 80% of toddlers were fully immunized in Alpena and Alcona counties and 70 to 75% of toddlers in Presque Isle County were fully immunized. The percentage of fully immunized toddlers in Montmorency County remained at 75 to 80% that year.

During that same time frame, DHD No. 4 reported a decrease in the number of immunization waivers in Alpena, Alcona, Montmorency and Cheboygan counties from 126 in 2017 to 86 in 2018.

The Health Department also began issuing immunization waivers in 2015, when state rules changed to require parents get those waivers at the health department instead of being allowed to sign them at their child’s school. The new rules also require parents receive education about the benefits of vaccinations and the risks of disease from the county health department before they can obtain the waiver.

Now, because of the declining rates during the pandemic, State Health officials are pushing for families with children and adolescents to get caught up to ensure everyone is protected against vaccine preventable diseases.

Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun said it’s concerning that so many children are behind on their vaccinations and are susceptible to preventable diseases.

“Vaccines are essential,” she said. “It’s important for caregivers to contact their healthcare provider to get children caught up on needed vaccines.”

In addition to catching up on routine vaccines, Khaldun is encouraging everyone six months and older to receive a flu vaccine this fall to keep Michiganders out of the hospital for flu-related illnesses during the pandemic.