Some Pediatricians Are Refusing to See Unvaccinated Kids

As some parents continue to refuse vaccines for their children, it's not just schools turning them away. Many pediatricians are now dismissing families who deny lifesaving vaccinations for nonmedical reasons.

Despite the abundance of scientific evidence supporting the safety and necessity of vaccines, some families continue to express hesitancy or distrust the important inoculations altogether. Many doctors worry that their refusal could put other patients at risk.

"I have two patients in my practice who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons," Alla Gordina, MD, FAAP, a New Jersey pediatrician told Forbes last year. "I have to protect them. I have to protect babies who cannot be vaccinated because of their age."

While more pediatricians are adopting similar rules (up to nearly one in eight, according to a 2013 survey), the news still comes as a shock to some parents who delay or skip immunizations.

"My oldest son is 13 and just recently, I took them into the same pediatrician's office and they informed me at the end of the visit that they would no longer see my children because I don't vaccinate them," mom Lauren McGuinnes told First Coast News. "Parents are kind of being bullied to vaccinate."

Besides concerns about vulnerable patients, a few doctors implement the policy because the choice between dismissal and immunization can pressure some parents to change their mind, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The trade group officially okayed the dismissal of vaccine-refusing patients last year, but not without addressing ethical concerns.

"The decision to dismiss a family who continues to refuse immunization is not one that should be made lightly, nor should it be made without considering and respecting the reasons for the parents' point of view," a 2016 AAP report reads. "Nevertheless, the individual pediatrician may consider dismissal of families who refuse vaccination as an acceptable option."

While some bioethicists counter that no family should be turned away, both medical professionals and public officials are currently struggling with how to address alarmingly low immunization rates.

For example, after the 2015 measles outbreak at Disneyland, the state of California recently passed tougher vaccination laws to prevent the spread of highly-contagious diseases. Now parents cannot use religious or personal reasons to refuse vaccinations for their children. The new rule only allows medical exemptions - but the rate of kindergartners with medical exemptions recently skyrocketed to a scientifically-improbable rate, the Los Angeles Timesreports.

Most experts state that at least 95% of the population should receive vaccinations to obtain the "herd immunity." That principle has eradicated disease so effectively, that some parents falsely believe children don't need shots anymore, or that kids can receive immunizations at a later age.

While it's ultimately up to the parents to decide what they feel is right for their children, science clearly states: vaccines save lives.