Providers Blame Parents For Measles Outbreak

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Ninety-two percent of doctors say the measles outbreak is directly attributable to parents who do not vaccinate the children.

According to post on the CDC website, during the month of January 102 people from 14 states were reported to have measles, with a concentration in one large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. The CDC responded by issuing an Health Advisory on January 23 notifying public health departments and healthcare facilities about this multi-state outbreak and to provide guidance for healthcare providers nationwide.

The recent outbreak of measles as raised a number of questions about vaccination safety, vaccination requirements, and the impact on public health management. Public health officials have requested quarantines for exposed individuals and school districts have released unvaccinated children to stop the spread of this serious virus.

According to USA Today, more than 80 percent of the measles patients tied to the Disneyland outbreak had not been vaccinated. And although nearly 95 percent of all children are fully immunized against measles, the CDC data shows vaccination rates vary from a low of 82 percent in Colorado to 98 percent in Mississippi.

Nineteen states, including California, allow exemptions for “philosophical” reasons. Some states require only public school students to be vaccinated; other laws apply to both public and private schools. There is no federal directive for immunization.

USA Today reports California, Oregon, and Washington all recently introduced a more rigorous process for exemption that requires “informed refusal,” in which parents must discuss the associated risks of non-vaccination with a health professional before being granted the exemption. Measles had been declared eradicated in the U.S. by the CDC in 2000, but the disease has seen a comeback recently, tied to travelers from other countries.

To determine the attitudes of healthcare providers regarding the measles outbreak, SERMO conducted a poll of over 3,000 physicians. The survey found:

• 92 percent of physicians think the current measles outbreak was directly attributable to parents not vaccinating their children (3,099 respondents)
• 79 percent of SERMO physicians felt unvaccinated children, without a medical reason, should not be allowed to attend public schools (3,114 respondents)

“I will not accept a child in my practice if they do not vaccinate,” said Dr. Linda Girgis, a family practitioner based in New Jersey, said in a release. “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-preventable disease on my watch.”

The study also revealed high levels of sentiment against “anti-vaxxers.” One internist wrote, “It is dangerous for every other patient in your practice. An anti-vax 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.”

The current health crisis is also an opportunity to educate, according to some doctors. One ER doctor had this to add: “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.”