Documenting Parental Refusal to Have Their Children Vaccinated

Abstract

Despite our best efforts to educate parents about the need to vaccinate their children through discussions of vaccine-preventable diseases, the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing them, and the realistic chances of vaccine-associated adverse events, some will decline to have their children vaccinated. The incredible success of immunizations in dramatically reducing the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases has led to an increased public focus on vaccine safety. Even though scientific data and doctors solidly support the fact that vaccines are safe and effective, research on hypotheses about harmful side effects often is taken out of context. Safety concerns, some appropriate and many inappropriate but widely discussed in the media and on unmonitored and biased Web sites, cause substantial and often unrealistic fears.