Two Livingston County schools are among 49 in Michigan where at least 30 percent of the students turned in immunization waivers in 2017.

MLive.com published a report Friday that examined the waiver rates of all of Michigan’s public, private and charter schools in 2017. It found that 49 of those schools had rates that exceeded 30%. The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services says that, “High waiver rates and low vaccination coverage leave children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.”

Of those 49 schools, 36 are private schools and three are charter schools. Cornerstone Christian School in Brighton and Livingston Classical Cyber Academy in Whitmore Lake made the list. Cornerstone Christian School is a private school that came in at 31 on the list with a 36% waiver rate. MLive said it sought immunization records from 22 Cornerstone students in 2017, “of whom 8 submitted a waiver instead. Among students with waivers, 4 were kindergartners and 4 were seventh graders.”

Livingston Classical Cyber Academy is a charter school that came in at 46th with a 31% waiver rate. Again, MLive “sought immunization records from 62 students in 2017, of whom 19 submitted a waiver instead. Among students with waivers, 3 were kindergartners and 16 were transfer students.” While Michigan requires schoolchildren to be immunized against more than a dozen contagious diseases, the state allows children to opt out if their parents have a "philosophical" opposition to vaccination.

A measles outbreak is currently underway in Oregon with health officials blaming its spread on pockets of people who have not been vaccinated. They also point out that communities need between 93 and 95 percent of the population vaccinated against measles to stop its spread. You’ll find a link for more details below. (JK)