My kids aren’t vaccinated and I’d probably prefer them be around non-vaccinated kids! But that’s probably a whole other story LOL. We did have a pediatrician that seemed to encourage you to vaccinate “or else” but they never followed through. We felt more comfortable being in a practice that didn’t push vaccines and so we moved on to one that has a very small number of vaccinated patients.

Steph

I get that these articles generate alot of “energy”, so that’s why they continue to be published. But really… “sit next to an unvaccinated” child…are you kidding? I would much rather have my child sit next to an unvaccinated kid than a freshly vaxed one! Where they “shed” the disease for up to 6 weeks. And spare me the “protect” our children with Cancer routine…rule number one when my family member had Cancer…stay AWAY from freshly vaccinated children/people…they are contagious!! (no, I’m not making this up.) It sounds much to me that the pediatricians in Chicago are getting a very large incentive from the big pharma programs. (like so many do) So yes, I would leave..they clearly are NOT looking out for their patients, but for their own profits. There is no money in healthy people. (makes you wonder doesn’t it)

A pediatricians’ office in our town recently changed their policy to require all patients to follow the schedule. The reason: lawsuits. Some parents choose not to vaccinate their kids and then sue the docs who tolerate it when the kid comes down with a vaccine-preventable illness. You would think the parents should be responsible, but they claim the doctors are negligent for not forcing them. Sounds crazy, but this is a litigious society, I guess.

Northwestern is one of the top teaching hospitals in the US and this practice is excellent (many friends of ours go there). Glad they’re cutting the cr*p and refusing to indulge certain people.

While I personally choose to have my LO follow the schedule, I’d leave a practice that wouldn’t treat all children. To me, they are letting down the children who may need a doctor the most and that is very unethical.

Personally, I think there is good reason to vaccinate. I believe in the evidence that has disproven connections between vaccines and illnesses and that those who do not vaccinate are relying on herd mentality, which is highly irresponsible. I think it is well within a doctor’s right to institute a practice policy that says all patients must be vaccinated.

That said, I think parents need to find doctors who fit their needs. As a parent, if I didn’t believe in vaccinating, I likely wouldn’t feel comfortable with a doctor/practice that firmly believed in rigid schedules and would seek a doctor/practice that was less rigid. So, my guess is the 15% of patients who left are probably better matched with their new doctors.

Dear un-vaxxers, Please don’t give me or my children an infectious disease because you choose to believe you are smarter than years of science and medicine. The facts are in. The science is in. The statistics are in. Expose your child to polio if you must, but don’t give it to mine. Your conspiracy theories and house wife worries are killing children. Please don’t turn our nations health status back to 1960′s India.

Thanks. – a mom with a brain.

facts: Don’t be ignorant. There DO exist adverse reactions to vaccines- read the package inserts. Our eldest suffered sever cortical atrophy from his infant DTP vaccines and died as a result of those complications. Don’t believe it doesn’t happen.
Thanks. a mom with a dead child due to his vaccines.

good. Anti-vaxxers put us all at risk. Far more children die of vaccine preventable diseases than die from adverse reactions to vaccines. I sought out a pediatrician with this policy. And those of you who are worried about catching the disease from “shedding” must be complete idiots. The only thing that might happen to a healthy child (and this is very unlikely) is that they would essentially become vaccinated, not sick with the disease the vaccine prevents.

@fact: I can certainly explain how an encephalitic reaction ot the pertussis component takes place. Please read up on cortical atrophy., as shown via CT and MRI studies in a 6½ month old infant- not a senior citizen.
Please, though, point out exactly where I advised against vaccines in general? My younger 3 children are all up-to-date on their vaccines (excepting Gardisil) (10 yrs old, 12yo and 21yo). However, I DO advise against a mandate that does not provide for religious, philosophical and medical exemptions, as I find it unconstitutional- and an assault- to force people to inject their children with substances to which they object, against their will. As that parent who suffered grievous loss, I cannot, in good conscience, advocate that.
It’s likely my son would not have died from pertussis- yet dead he is form the very vaccine meant ot prevent it.

Again- my kids are vaccinated. But in the event that they mandate vaccines I do not accept, I will still advantage them to the education they deserve- and for which my taxes pay. :-)
If HPV or the flu worries you so much, teach them abstinence, no needles and keep YOURS home during flu season :-) Or better- why not use your trusty vaccines and quit worrying?

Goddess: Because my baby can’t be vaccinated until he is two months old and won’t be fully protected right away. When he is old enough to either be fully protected or to not be at such risk of severe complications, then i won’t worry.

Also i don’t feel comfortable with a doctor who bases recommendations not on science and my child’s well being, but on appeasing the worried little mommy. That’s not what i pay my doctor for.

Anyone who has researched this knows that there is a small risk of an adverse reaction that could include brain damage or death. Obviously, those statistics represent real people. Who can blame Goddess for her stance? She’s not just pulling it out of thin air that some people are better off not taking the risk. That said, I think it’s reasonable to expect vaccinations for all children where there is no indication of increased risk for adverse reaction or other medical justification for not vaccinating. Parents ought to have the right to decide whether or not to vaccinate. But everyone else also has the right to encourage legislation that would bar those kids from attending public school, or choose doctors who will not expose them to additional risks for the benefit of a minority of patients. Non-vaccinated kids also have the right to a publicly funded education. I’m sure the more adventurous of the pro-vaxers can suggest how those things can be negotiated.

@Lam- it’ll cost to have those kids tutored at home and likely cut into the money spent in the actual school buildings. Expect larger class sizes as teachers are siphoned off to tutor at-home.

Great! I do not want my children around those who do not vaccinate. It is really tragic how my generation doesn’t know what it’s like to get polio, measles, mumps, etc. I think if we did, more parents would vaccinate. This attitude of calling these illnesses normal childhood diseases is crazy!

Have any of you had to take care of children with these illnesses? Have any of you had the pleasure of taking care of babies with whooping cough? Oh, and these babies with whooping cough were too young for the vaccine. It’s heart breaking to watch a baby struggling to breath. It’s heart breaking to watch the parents having to deal with this illness.

Those who can vaccinate should! I’m talking everyone unless the child is allergic or is immunocompromised. Adults should make sure their vaccinations are up to date as well.

I vaccinate to protect my children and community.

@Carrie- have YOU held one who died from brain damage that occurred as an adverse reaction form a vaccine? Both REALLY, REALLY and TOTALLY suck. Bu YOU only get to choose risks for YOURS. Not those in the care of others.

@goddess we aren’t talking about “public.” We are talking about the pediatrician’s office… a place where sick children regularly congregate, and where I’m bringing my newborn for his 1 month checkup on Friday.

Obviously children who have had reactions have a valid reason NOT to vaccinate, which makes it all the more important that children who.do NOT react poorly to vaxes (vast VAST majority) get their shots.to protect those kids… and my baby.

I’m so sorry you lost a child and I can’t tell you how greatful I am, that in spite of that, you get your children vaccinated where you can. The thought of losing my new baby gives me hormonally encouraged weeping fits.

@meagan- each pediatrician has the right to determine the criteria for their clientele, as we do for doctors. Others brought up mandatory vaccination in society at large and in order to attend school, in particular. If you go back and read, you’ll see i did not even enter the discussion until those points were also brought into the discussion. I have no issue with peds who adopt this criteria,. If they insist on flu vaccines and Gardisil, I will go to another practice or use Urgent Care.
@Lam- do you know that they sold us a bill of goods on that Varivax right? It is only 40% efficacious and that only lasts for about 10 years. They had to add a second shot to th3e schedule and are worried that the immunity form that may also fade by the time those kids reach adulthood. What we may have done was shift the burden of the disease from chldhood, when people are most likely to contract and recover form chicken pox without issue onto the adult population which fares much worse and have much more serious side effects. We all know the rates of vaccinations are much higher for the childhood population than the adult, and we may be in for a big nightmare later on.
Varivax was a WONDERFUL vaccine – for those who had under;lying conditions that made contracting chicken pox unwise- especially those with neurological deficits. But that would not have been as lucrative as scaring the population at large and pushing for a mass vaccination schedule that guarantees a regular and repeating income source.
I was so PRO vax- even after our son died- until I saw what happened with the chicken pox vaccine, then saw all of the other drugs that have been relkeased0 and recalled – after grievous injury, incomplete studies and under-reported side effects. Gardisil is just more nail in the coffin of that faith I once had.
I do believe vaccines were a miraculous invention- and I DO understand they will have their sacrificial lambs. But I do not trust each and every one coming down the pike now- from companies whose greed exceeds their honesty and integrity, IMHO.
With that in mind, I do support ad will fight for, all 3 forms of exemptions- as no government should force any chemicals into anyone’s bodies without their consent- or the consent of their guardians. To em, that is an egregious affront to our society. As Franklin said: ““Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Idiot parents sue conscientious doctors for not “making them” vaccinate their kids — when the parents refused to. Good for these doctors for protecting their asses.

If airlines can decide whom to allow in first class, physicians can decide whom they will consent to treat in their practice. You no like? You go somewhere else. If all the unvaxxed kids end up at the same place, where they all proceed to become infected with measles or worse, well, maybe that’s a wakeup call. I’m sick of parents trusting herd immunity while willfully risking other people’s infants.

Yeah- like the ones who had adverse reactions and can’t have them anymore- and their siblings.

It would bother me if my pediatrician wasn’t on the same page with me about my childs health so if I wasn’t vaccinating and they had a problem with that I would leave even if they didn’t have a policy forcing me too. We are vaccinating on schedule though and I wouldn’t have a problem with their office having this policy, but I’ll admit I had never thought about it before.

For the same reason I love that parents get to make these choices, so should a small business owner.

@Goddess- Thank you so much for telling us your story. You have my deepest sympathies. As a pregnant woman, I do have fears of vaccinations, but I also fear that I will put my child at great risk if I don’t vaccinate. Your story was a worse case senario and it’s every parent’s worst nightmare come true. I can’t begin to imagine the pain you went and are continuing to go through. There is so much information about the pros and cons that I know I’m not the only one who’s confused about what to do. My husband and I have decided that we are going to vaccinate our child, but will do so at slightly later intervals, but I don’t feel great about that either. We all want our children to be safe and healthy. I don’t blame the doctors for not wanting patients who don’t vaccinate, especially if they are at risk for getting sued later on. But I do feel that it’s still a disservice to those kids. Maybe at some of the bigger practices, they can separate these kids in different waiting rooms or service them for non emergency visits on certain days/times. I know in larger cities, some offices have separate waiting rooms for just the babies. But I think that the most important thing we can all do for our kids is be the best avocate for them. Good doctors are informed and won’t be threatened by a parent who question’s thier child’s treatment. A good doctor will give you the best information available to help you as the parent make informed decisions. If your doctor is dismissive, threatened, or offended in any way by your questions, then that’s your sign to get another doctor. Parents have the right to decide whether or not to vaccinate, but if they choose not to on philisophical beliefs alone, then they should sign some waiver acknowlegding they understand the risks and opt out of being able to sue if their child gets sick from something they wouldn’t have gotten had they vaccinated in the first place.

My name is Gary. When I was born in 1951, the world was obsessed with vaccines to prevent such things a small pox; a disease that killed countless children. Within 2 weeks of vaccination, I was a patient at Milwaukee’s Children’s Hospital, diagnosed with post vaccination encephalitis. While the mortality rate of post vaccination encephalitis is very high, I survived. While the rate of impairment of cognitive abilities is great, I remain intact.

In 2000, my daughter was born, and later diagnosed with moderate to severe autism, by three different doctors Every symptom that she has, so did I. I fit the DSM-4 perfectly.

To assume that vaccines have no connection with autism is, at best, foolish, and at worst, negligent to your Hypocratic oath.

Your job is to treat patients, not to question what is their best beliefs and hopes for their offspring.
Gary

Excellent very smart doctors!