Doctors drop families that refuse shots

Restoring trust in vaccine safety is seen as key to preventing clashes between parents and physicians over childhood immunizations.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Oct. 24/31, 2005.

Washington -- When Erin Flanagan-Klygis, MD, began her pediatric practice a few years ago, she was surprised by the number of families who came to her after being dismissed by other physicians. The reason? The parents refused to have their children immunized.

Thus, it came as no surprise to her that a recent survey confirmed that many physicians are becoming so frustrated by parents who refuse vaccines for their children that they said they would decline to care for them. She conducted this study with colleagues at Rush Medical College in Chicago, where she is now an assistant professor of pediatrics. It appears in the October Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Dr. Flanagan-Klygis is a strong advocate for vaccination, but she told parents that she would continue to care for these young patients regardless of this decision. "I had to do a lot of hand-holding and offer reassurances that I'd be willing to talk to them about their feelings concerning vaccinations."

The rate of unvaccinated children in the country has increased in recent years as more parents opt to forgo them for their children because of safety concerns. Often such anxieties are based on unscientific but dire reports of autism, autoimmune diseases and compromised immune systems as outcomes of vaccination.

Many states are also passing laws allowing families to receive philosophic exemptions from immunizations required for school entry. These exemptions supplement those given for religious reasons.