Michigan Doctors Stress Importance Of Vaccines: 'You Don't Need To Die Of These Diseases'

DETROIT (WWJ) - Michigan's doctors are sounding the alarm over the state's high rate of unvaccinated kids.

Whether they're influenced by celebrities, or relying on advice from the Internet, more Michigan parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids against preventable childhood illnesses.

That's why doctors from the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and the Michigan Osteopathic Association are speaking up during National Infant Immunization Week.

Anthony Ognjan says vaccines protect kids from deadly, preventable diseases and protect families from the heartbreak of losing a child.

"I don't ever wanna see parents or adults going through this with their children, or their grandchildren, or their nieces or nephews," Ognjan said. "You don't need to die of these diseases; you don't need to suffer the consequences."

"A simple vaccine taken in context when they're supposed to be given is all you need to protect yourself and your children," he said,

Providence Family Medicine Doctor Karen Mitchell says parents concerned about vaccine safety should have a conversation about risk versus benefit with their children's pediatrician.

"The science behind it is saying that vaccines are very safe; they're some of the safest things that we do in medicine," said Mitchell," and anyone who has a medical concern really should be talking with their own personal physician."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Michigan ranks fourth in the nation for parents who opt out of vaccine with non-medical exemptions.

Get more information on vaccines from the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians HERE.