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Health Department faces federal funding cuts, low measles vaccination rates

With dangerously low child vaccination rates against measles in this region, federal government funding cuts couldn’t come at a worse time for the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department. The BLDHD learned on April 1 that it would face a funding shortfall of more than $230,000 in the coming fiscal year—much of it related to school health services the department provides to local schools. In Leelanau County, 82 percent of children between ages 6-18 years have received the MMR vaccine, which offers 97 protection against measles, mumps and rubella after the second dose. In Benzie County, the number is 83 percent. “That rate is relatively low. Ideally, we should be at 95 percent,” said BLDHD health officer Dan Thorell. “Very few vaccines are as effective as the measles vaccine.”

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Percentage of Leelanau County residents receiving first vaccine dose passes 70%—leading the state

Yesterday, Leelanau County passed the 70% mark for all eligible residents age 16 and over who have received their initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. “This is a major accomplishment for our county to be the first in the state to reach that level of protection,” said Lisa Peacock, health officer with the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.

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Beating the Pandemic, One Shot in the Arm at a Time

It is New Year’s Day for many walking out of the Hagerty Center, where Northwestern Michigan College, the Grand Traverse County Health Department, and the National Guard have run a vaccination clinic since January 18. This week marks the one-year anniversary of COVID infections in Michigan. The first cases in the state were identified on March 10, 2020, the same day that Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency.

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