Measles Outbreak Renews Debate on Vaccinations

by John Michaelson/TNS

AUSTIN, Texas – Doctors, parents and politicians across the country are involved in a heated debate over vaccinations, following a measles outbreak that began at Disneyland in California.

Top health leaders link the outbreak to children who were not vaccinated for the disease.

Dr. Lainna Callentine, a pediatrician in Illinois, says it’s crucial that parents discuss with their pediatricians their reasons for or against choosing to vaccinate their children.
“As a pediatrician, my role is to educate and to empower parents to make healthy decisions on behalf of their children,” she states. “But I have to respect that a parent has a right ultimately to make that decision and that is not my personal right on their behalf.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100 people from 14 states, including Texas, were reported to have measles in January, most of them linked to the Disneyland outbreak.

Parents may choose to not vaccinate, or delay vaccinating, for religious beliefs, medical issues, poverty or a lack of access to medical care, but regardless of the reasons, some doctors refuse to accept patients whose parents are anti-vaccine. Callentine says that sends the wrong message.

“I see a problem with physicians who do not allow healthy dialogue and questions,” she says. “When you push them out of your practice, you’re really pushing them into the arms of perhaps some of the charlatans out there who are feeding a lot of misinformation.”

According to a Pew Research Center report, about 68 percent of Americans say vaccines should be required, and 30 percent say vaccines should be a matter of personal choice.
Callentine adds that there is a lot of information available about vaccinations, and parents should be fully educated before making a decision for their child.

“It’s important for parents to understand the information they are looking at and where that information comes from. It’s also important to understand how those illnesses are transmitted,” she stresses. “There’s a lot of other factors that they need to look at as far as risks to the vaccine, or risks to contracting that illness.”