I also take issue with providers who simply refuse to see families who don’t vaccinate. In my mind, this hearkens back to that paternalistic practice of medicine, and it punishes those who are most vulnerable. Children need care, no matter what their parents’ decisions regarding vaccination. It also presumes that the clinician will never be able to impact a family’s opinions regarding vaccination. This is categorically untrue! You’d be amazed at how much you can accomplish if you just take the time to listen, acknowledge, and clarify.
So, if you are one of those new doctors out there, please don’t give up hope that you can make a difference. This is a very worthy fight, and you are up to the task! Keep talking to your patients and their families about the importance of vaccinations. Your voice matters, and patients value what you have to say!
Gretchen LaSalle, M.D.
Spokane, Wash.
Dr. Wilkoff responds: While I have had some successes using the same annoying persistence that Dr. LaSalle suggests, they have been few and far between. I agree that many vaccine-hesitant parents are driven by fear. However, the studies I referred to in my column should give all of us pause as we consider how to invest our limited face-to-face time with patients. Education may be one of the solutions to the vaccine-refusal problem. However, the question remains as to what point in a parent’s development that education should begin. It may be that in many cases we arrive on the scene too late. As pessimistic as this observation may sound, I agree with Dr. LaSalle that discharging vaccine-refusing families doesn’t help the situation and ignores our primary mission.