Ninety-two percent of physicians think the current measles outbreak is directly attributed to parents not vaccinating their children, according to the latest poll from SERMO, the leading U.S. social network for doctors.
According to USA TODAY, the unvaccinated rate in some California schools is as high as 30%. Currently 19 states allow parents to skip vaccines for their children due to personal beliefs or philosophical reasons.
“I will not accept a child in my practice if they do not vaccinate,” said Dr. Linda Grigis, a family practitioner based in New Jersey. “Measles kills one or two out of every 1,000 persons who become ill with it in the U.S. No child will die from a vaccine-presentable disease on my watch.”
The sentiment against “anti-vaxxers” is strong among SERMO participants, many of whom remain anonymous on the platform.
One internist wrote, “It is dangerous for every other patient in your practice. An anti-vac kid brought in by a parent for a rash sitting in the waiting room of a busy pediatric practice could spread measles to countless others in a matter of minutes.”
Yet some doctors believe seeing non-vaccinated patients is an opportunity to educate. An OBGYM wrote, “We have a large community of anti-vaxxers in my state and it would be difficult to refuse them outright. Instead I use persuasion to try to educate them and make my advocacy position very clear. I have had some limited success with this tactic.”
An ER doctor contributed to the conversation in strong words, “If you, intelligent, right-minded doctors, who know and can articulate the value of childhood immunization, exclude non-immunizers from your practice, what will happen to them? They will go to the quacks. The quacks will benefit. The patients will suffer. Everyone will suffer as these ideas continue to spread and herd immunity drops.”
Since initial reports, measles has spread to over 80 people in 11 states with the likelihood that more patients will be diagnosed soon.