Survey: More Parents Accepting Vaccine Use
Fear Main Driver, but May Not Last continued...
Fishaut said that the most common reasons for refusals at his practice include fear of autism, conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical companies, and an aversion to all chemical interventions.
That reflects the Medscape survey data. Sixty-four percent of clinicians said parents fear complications, and 61% said parents fear a connection to autism. Half said parents worried about added ingredients such as thimerosal, and 45% said parents expressed concerns about immunization overwhelming a child's immune system.
Byington called the autism and immunity fears myths. "As physicians, we continue to be frustrated by the traction that these myths continue to have," she said, noting that "every one of these myths have been debunked again and again through scientific study."
But parents' fears are easily amped up by misleading claims on the Internet, she said.
Strategies to Increase Acceptance
A majority of survey respondents (69%) said they provide evidence-based information to address specific parental concerns. They also said that they create a customized approach and share statistics on vaccine-preventable diseases.
Eight percent said they refuse to accept families in their practice who will not adhere to the recommended vaccination schedule.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against this, Byington said. The group is reworking its policy statement on vaccine hesitancy and will publish it later this year, she said.
"My policy is to not punish children for parental ignorance," Fishaut said. Beyond educating parents, he said he has worked with the school system to ensure that unvaccinated children cannot participate in extracurricular activities. And, he says, he "works with immunizing parents to be the principal public advocates for vaccination."
The state of Washington is considering legislation to repeal the philosophical exemption. California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill in June that eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions. And in 2014, Vermont passed a law to eliminate philosophical, but not religious, exemptions beginning in 2016.
Byington said that the California measles outbreak put state lawmakers on notice. She expects "to see a large number of states introducing bills regarding exemptions," she said.
Clinicians who responded to the survey were eligible for a raffle, but they were not paid for their participation in the survey. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.46%.