Childhood vaccination, one of the top public-health achievements of all time, has become an occupational headache and heartache for pediatricians. On a daily basis, they face balking that ranges from minor concerns about vaccine safety, to requests to alter the optimal timetable for immunizations, to intractable distrust and refusal.
Last week, pediatricians cheered as their professional organization boldly confronted the growing problem of vaccine "hesitancy." For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics called on states to get rid of nonmedical exemptions for vaccines, and said it is "acceptable" for physicians to show the door to families who reject this bedrock approach to disease prevention.
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