Docotors Decline Vaccines

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When Doctors Don't Vaccinate Their Own Children

Randall Neustaedter OMD

Lo and behold, some doctors delay or decline to give vaccinations to their

own children. A survey of Swiss doctors discovered interesting trends.

Questionnaires were sent by e-mail to 2,070 Swiss physicians registered with

InfoVac, a vaccination information service for doctors. Although 95 percent

of pediatricians surveyed agree with vaccination recommendations and would

apply them to their own children, a significant proportion of

nonpediatricians often disagreed with policies and made other decisions for

their own families. Nonpediatricians were twice as likely as pediatricians

to deviate, for their own child, from the recommended schedule.

Pediatricians were more likely to give Hib, measles, mumps, and hepatitis B

vaccines to their own children than nonpediatrician parents.

For example 5 percent of nonpediatricians would not use the Hib vaccine for

their own child. Their reasons for declining the use of Hib for their own

children included a lack of concern about the disease and the desire to

reduce vaccines to a minimum. Similarly almost 5 percent of physicians did

not use the MMR vaccine in their own children. According to the authors the

reasons for vaccine refusal included " the wish to avoid the trivalent

combined vaccines because of safety concerns, the preference for

infection-driven rather than vaccine-induced immunity, and the conviction

that homeopathic treatment allows a benign outcome of measles, mumps, and

rubella. " Almost 10 percent of nonpediatricians would delay the initiation

of DTaP vaccination beyond 6 months and 15 percent would not give the first

dose of measles or MMR before 2 years of age.

These choices for physicians' own families seem to reflect the same concerns

as those of other educated health care consumers. In fact the authors

themselves state that concerns over safety and a reliance on other systems

of healing " are frequent beliefs in the general population and that they are

supported by physicians who adhere to alternative medicine concepts is not

unexpected. " Of the nonpediatricians 7 percent reported membership in an

alternative medicine association compared with 3 percent of pediatricians.

The authors puzzle over the decisions of physicians who should apparently

know better. " Despite their scientific training and education, they express

the same concerns as those that prevail in the public. " Perhaps there is

something wrong with their scientific training if physicians are willing to

reject it in favor of conclusions that accord with their own educated

research.

Posfay-Barbe KM, et al. How do physicians immunize their own children?

Differences among pediatricians and nonpediatricians. Pediatrics 2005 (Nov);

116:e623-e633.

Randall Neustaedter OMD

Education Director, HPA www.hpakids.org

Classical Medicine Center

1779 Woodside Rd, 201C

Redwood City, CA 94061

650 299-9170

www.cure-guide.com Free e-newsletter - Subscribe

Author of Child Health Guide: Holistic Pediatrics for Parents, 2005

Question about Soy

Hi

I have read in a couple of e-mail mentioning soy products. My son drinks

soy milk because of reactions he had for dairy milk is there a reason that

he should not be drinking soy milk? We buy the silk organic brand.

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