Michigan's health agency has assisted more than 30 counties in adopting a hybrid vaccine waiver process that includes an online education course and an in-person signature requirement as of May 2026. The updated system replaces the previous requirement that parents attend fully in-person vaccine education sessions to obtain nonmedical exemptions for schoolchildren.
The state first implemented in-person education sessions for vaccine waivers in 2015. After that policy took effect, kindergarten waiver rates dropped by 32% that year. Waiver rates began rebounding after 2015 and increased further during and after the pandemic.
Local health officials reported that in-person sessions became hostile, ineffective, and sometimes unsafe for staff after the pandemic began. "It was really creating an unsafe setting, actually, for our nurses," said Juan Marquez, medical director for Washtenaw and Livingston counties.
St. Clair County became the first in the state to offer vaccine waivers through an online process. "Parents who 'felt pressured' into getting vaccines 'are going to experience a new era of vaccine choice in St. Clair County,'" said Remington Nevin, medical director for the St. Clair County Health Department, in January at a board meeting.
As of May 28, 2026, Michigan had recorded 14 measles cases that year, including seven in Washtenaw County. Public health reports indicated that Washtenaw County was believed to be the source of an eighth case in a neighboring county. "And when one of these measles cases ends up in a low-immunization community, that's when the ember really has a chance to expand and become a wildfire," said Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan's chief medical officer.
According to state officials, some Michigan schools have vaccination rates as low as 30% to 40%. In 2014, Michigan had the fourth-highest vaccine waiver rate in the U.S. before the 2015 rule change.