Vaccines prevent many childhood diseases, but some parents choose not to vaccinate their children. They either fear complications or are skeptical about vaccines in general. Those decisions have alarmed other parents, especially when disease outbreaks occur.
Hundreds of cases of measles were reported in 2014 and 2015 throughout the U.S., the highest rates since the disease was considered eradicated,
reports Newsweek. Doctors deal with doctor-patient confidentiality issues, but also concerns about the spread of disease from unvaccinated children.
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Here are five doctors who took steps to let parents know who isn't vaccinated:
1. Dr. Charles Goodman, a Los Angeles pediatrician, no longer sees children whose parents won't have them vaccinated. He posted the message in his office waiting room and on Facebook. Parents who avoid vaccinations are "not just putting their kids at risk, but they're also putting other kids at risk — especially kids in my waiting room."
2. Dr. Nelson Branco stopped accepting parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated in 2012 at his office in Marin County, California. Only about 10 or 20 out of some 8,000 patients left his practice, but just the few that posed a threat of spreading a disease "can be spooky for parents," says Dr. Branco. Some children receive exemptions because of medical reactions to vaccines, but there has been an increase in parents who claim vaccines cause harm. Branco pointed out the research that shows the safety of vaccines saying, "we have the science. We have the experience that it's the right thing to do."
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3. In 2014, Dr. Eric Ball took measures to protect children in his Southern California practice after a measles outbreak affected 20 infants in his waiting room. The exposure came from one patient who was not vaccinated,
reports NPR. Dr. Ball and other pediatricians in his group decided to no longer see children whose parents won't have them vaccinated. He did his best to convince parents of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, but some parents still refused and were told to see another pediatrician.
4. Dr. Kristen A. Feemster, a physician and research director at the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says certain vaccines should be required for children to protect others. "Vaccines work by protecting individuals, but their strength really lies in the ability to protect one's neighbors," says Dr. Feemster. Children who can't receive vaccines for medical reasons also benefit with protection from those around them, she added.
5. Dr. Robert Ross took steps to protect children when parents became alarmed from a measles outbreak in 1991. A church with a school of about 1,000 children had refused to have them vaccinated on religious grounds. Ross, deputy health commissioner of Philadelphia at the time along with his colleagues in the commission got a court order to have the children vaccinated.
This article is for information only and is not intended as medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your specific health and medical needs.
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