Vaccination is Important! Pediatricians to Deny Treatment if Parents Continue Vaccine Refusal

The American Academy of Pediatricians are now supporting their members who chose not to treat families who consistently refuse to vaccinate their child despite continued counseling effort.

In a policy statement released by the academy, parents who declined the immunization of their child will be requested to sign a vaccine refusal form, showed to the door and asked to seek care from different health care provider.

The decision to refuse treatment may be hard for pediatricians. However, there are still a lot of parents who refuse to take their doctors' counsel to vaccinate their child. According to a report from Los Angeles Times, about 87 percent of the members of AAP were challenged by parents who refused to have their child immunized last year, up from 75 percent in 2006.

"As pediatricians, we care about every individual child in our practices, and we know that vaccines are an important way to protect them from disease," explained AAP President Benard P. Dreyer, MD, FAAP, in a press release. "No child should have to suffer through a disease that could have been prevented by a vaccine."

A survey conducted by the academy showed that about 12 percent of pediatrician gave up on the stubbornness of ignorant parents and asked them to find another doctor if they are still not willing to vaccinate their child in 2013. In 2006, only 6 percent of their members routinely showed the door to such parents.

AAP notes that the denying of treatment should be the last resort of pediatricians. It should only be done after all counseling efforts have been exhausted. The academy is also recommending their members to educate parents about vaccination starting from their first prenatal visit.

Parent's hesitance in having their child immunized came from the belief that vaccinations could cause autism or that the injections is not necessary and could only cause discomfort to their child. In other cases, hesitant parents are not truly opposed to the immunization of their child, but rather are unsure or have questions.