Doctors push back on vaccine hesitancy

US paediatricians are pushing back against parents who resist having their children vaccinated against a broad range of dangerous diseases by calling on states to stop offering waivers to those with nonmedical objections to the practice.

In a policy statement issued yesterday, the American Academy of Paediatrics also said that if parents continue to refuse vaccinations despite exhaustive efforts to change their minds, it would be acceptable for doctors to exclude these families from their practices.

The pronouncements are intended to guide US paediatricians as they grapple with a rising tide of vaccine “hesitancy” on the part of parents. Among doctors who are members of the nation’s largest organisation of paediatricians, 87 per cent have been challenged in the last year by parents who refused to have their children immunised, up from 75 per cent in 2006.

Last resort

Imperturbable in the face of colicky babies, toddlers’ tantrums and teen angst, many paediatricians have reached the end of their patience with parents who are unconvinced of vaccines’ life-saving benefits. In 2013, 12 per cent of paediatricians routinely asked parents to find another physician if they weren’t willing to vaccinate their children. In 2006, only 6 per cent routinely showed such parents the door, according to surveys by the academy.

That step should be a last resort, the group said. In a lengthy report also released yesterday by the academy, 23 specialists in paediatrics and infectious diseases said doctors should begin discussing the benefits of vaccines as early as the first prenatal visit. In doing so, they should be prepared to explain the scientific evidence supporting vaccines’ use.