Immunization clinics at Mid-Michigan District Health Department provide infant, child and adult vaccinations for Diptheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Meningitis, Hepatitis, Varicella, Flu and Pneumonia vaccinations. Other services include

• Optional miscellaneous vaccines (including Hepatitis A and Menomune)
• Regional Immunization Registry (MCIR)
• Physician office technical assistance
• School health-review of student records to ensure immunization compliance

What does immunization do?  Please look at the following facts:

• Immunizations are one of the most important ways people can be protected against serious, preventable infectious diseases.
• Immunizations are extremely safe as a result of advances in medical research and ongoing review by doctors, researchers, and public health officials.
• Immunizations are recommended fore infants, young children, the elderly, and those with chronic health problems because they are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases.
• While small risks accompany every immunization, people are far more likely to be seriously harmed by vaccine-preventable diseases than by the recommended immunizations that prevent them.
• Medical advances have resulted in the availability of additional safe and effective vaccines.  Now, people can be protected against a greater number of serious preventable diseases.
• Immunization benefits not just the individual, but also the community.  Communicable infectious diseases spread among people who have not been immunized, and among the small percentage of people for whom the immunization may not have been fully effective.
• Immunizations work by strengthening the body's own immune system.
• While breastfeeding and vitamins have health benefits, they do not replace the benefits of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases.
• Without immunizations, the diseases we are now protected from could easily return to infect, disable, and even kill, many infants, children and adults.

Immunization plays a very important role in protecting children from infectious diseases.  Children are required to be immunized by federal and state laws.  The following tables show immunizations required for Michigan preschool and school settings. You can get more information on this at the website of Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry (MCIR).

Child Care/Preschool Setting

School Setting

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Adult Immunization

Generally adults need influenza vaccine every year and a Td booster every 10 years.  In addition, people of certain professions and ages may need other vaccines to better protect them from infectious diseases as well.  The following is a list of websites that have relevant adult immunization information.  When you are not sure what vaccines you need or if you need any immunization at all, check with your doctor or call the health department. 

Adult Immunization Questions and Answers

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Immunization Program

Immunization Action Coalition

National Network for Immunization Information

The Vaccine Page

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College Bound? Think Ahead and Be Prepared.

The following vaccines are recommended and often required for college students:

• 2 doses of MMR
• 1 dose of TD in the past 10 years
• 3 doses of Hepatitis B
• 1-2 doses of Varicella or documented immunity - history of disease or serologic proof of immunity
• 1 dose of Meningococcal vaccine - Recommended for college freshman, especially those living in dormitories or residence halls
• 1 dose of Influenza vaccine each year

Students attending college out-state or traveling to other countries, please check to see which vaccines are recommended in those areas.

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Pregnant Women and Immunization

Pregnant women should consider the following vaccines to better protect themselves and the fetus:

Trivalent (Inactivated) Influenza Vaccine (TIV)

This vaccine is recommended due to increased risk for influenza-related complications. Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season should be vaccinated to reduce the risk.

Hepatitis B Vaccine (hep B)

Hepatitis B virus infection affecting a pregnant woman may result in severe disease for the mother and chronic infection for the new born.  Therefore, neither pregnancy nor lactation should be considered a contraindication to vaccination.

Tetanus and Diphtheria Vaccine (Td)

Td toxoid is indicated routinely for pregnant women.  Previously vaccinated pregnant women who have not received a Td vaccination within the last 10 years should receive a booster dose.  Pregnant women who are not immunized or only partially immunized against tetanus should complete the primary series.

Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV23)

This vaccine is recommended for women with high-risk conditions.

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Pregnant women SHOULD avoid the following vaccines during pregnancy:

Live, Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV)

Pregnant women should receive inactivated influenza vaccine.

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)

A risk to the fetus from administration of these live virus vaccines cannot be excluded for theoretical reasons.  Women should be counseled to avoid becoming pregnant for 4 weeks after vaccination with measles or mumps vaccines. or MMR or other rubella-containing vaccines.

Varicella (VAR)

The effect of varicella virus vaccine on the fetus is unknown; therefore, pregnant women should not be vaccinated. Nonpregnant women who are vaccinated should avoid becoming pregnant for 4 weeks following each injection.

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Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry (MCIR)

The goal for MCIR, according to its website,  is to improve the overall health of the citizens of Michigan by insuring widespread utilization of immunizations to target vaccine preventable illnesses, including: 

• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Polio
• Measles (rubeola or hard measles)
• Mumps
• Rubella (German measles)
• Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)
• Hepatitis B
• Tetanus (lockjaw)
• Diphtheria
• Chickenpox (Varicella)
• Influenza
• Pneumococcal disease 

These are all potentially serious diseases which can be prevented through the use of timely immunization.  More than 3 million children are currently included in MCIR.

The three counties under MMDHD's jurisdiction, Clinton, Gratiot, and Montcalm, belong to Region 3 for MCIR, which also includes Barry, Eaton, and Ingham.  If you have any question, please contact:

Beatrice Salada

Region 3 MCIR Coordinator

1307 E Townsend Rd
St Johns, MI 48879

Phone Number: 989-224-2195, or

           Toll free: 1-888-217-3902

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Frequently Asked Questions:

My child missed some of their shots. Do they need to start over?

No. You can continue the series where you left off.  Remember that delaying or refusing vaccines can put a child at risk for disease.

Can my child get their shots if they have a cold or ear infections?

Mild illness or fever is not a reason to delay immunizations.  If you have questions, call and speak to the clinic nurse.

Is it safe to get so many shots at once?

Careful and thorough studies show that getting many vaccines on the same day does not decrease their effectiveness or increase side effects.

What side effects will my child have when getting their shots?

Most side effects are very mild and may include a slight fever, fussiness or some redness and soreness at the injection site.

Why does my child need chicken pox vaccine?  Isn't it better to get the disease?

Chicken pox infection begins with fever and then a blistering rash breaks out.  On average, people get 250-500 of these itchy blister.  Most people survive without any problems, but it can have complications such as pneumonia, brain or skin infections, and death.

The vaccine has only minor side effects and is 95 percent effective.  People who have had vaccine instead of disease are four to five times less likely to get shingles and if they do, it is a milder case without complications.

Where can I get the flu shot?

Information is available during flu season from the flu hotline and this website.  You may call the nearest office of your health department to get the times and dates of clinics in your area.

What do I need to bring to the health department for my kids' immunization?

You may want to bring the following to the health department at the time of your children's immunization:

• any previous immunization record
• Medicaid card/insurance card
• $15.00 administration fee for each vaccine given if they are VFC eligible

What does VFC stand for and who is eligible for it?

VFC stands for "Vaccines for Children" and they are free.  The VFC Basic and Expanded programs are designed to keep qualified children in their medical home for basic preventive services and to reduce the barriers to getting children immunized. 

If your child is 18 years of age or younger, and meets one of the following conditions:

• is American Indian or Alaskan Native
• is enrolled in Medicaid
• has no health insurance
• is under-insured

he/she is eligible for the VFC programs with the exception that he/she has private health insurance, including MI-Child or any commercially purchased managed health care plan, with immunization coverage.

Definition for Under-Insured: For the purposes of determining eligibility for VFC, children are considered to be under-insured if the child's insurance does not cover any reimbursement for the cost of the vaccinations.  A child with health insurance that has no immunization coverage at the time the child presents is considered to be under-insured and eligible to receive VFC vaccine.

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