More US parents asking doctors to delay vaccines for children: study
Posted March 2, 2015 8:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHICAGO (NEWS1130) – Despite all the controversy over vaccinating your kids, more parents in the US are pressuring their doctors to delay the shots.
A new study published in the journal “Pediatrics” finds more American doctors are dealing with parents asking them to delay or space out vaccinations, suggesting the anti-vaccine trend could be growing.
“Vaccinations against 14 diseases are recommended for children under two. While some shots combine vaccines, children may get five shots at once under the recommended the schedule,” says Canadian Press reporter Ben Thomas, who looked into the study.
But almost a fifth of doctors surveyed said 10 per cent of their patients requested vaccine delays by spreading them out over more months than recommended.
“A survey of 534 doctors found nearly all had been asked by at least some parents to delay vaccines in a typical month. One in five asked them to spread the vaccines out over more months than is recommended,” says ABC’s Dierdre Bryant.
Doctors say delays put kids at risk of potential diseases like measles and were also worried about possible long-term complications and other risks from vaccines, which medical experts say are unfounded.
But only three per cent actually told parents to find another doctor.