Immunization
Parents who
Question Vaccines

RESPECT, COMMUNICATE, EDUCATE
Most parents believe in the benefits of immunization for their children. However, healthcare providers may encounter parents who question the need for or safety of childhood vaccines. Such parents may choose to delay or forgo immunizing their ­children with some or all of the recommended vaccines. To assist parents in making fully informed immunization decisions, providers should try to understand differing views of vaccine risks and benefits and be prepared to respond ­effectively to ­concerns and questions.

CONCERNS ABOUT UNIMMUNIZED  
CHILDREN IN MY PRACTICE
Many of the concerns that providers have about caring for unimmunized ­children can be addressed.

Concerns about liability:  Liability to a provider in case of an occurrence of a vaccine-preventable ­disease in an unimmunized patient can be addressed by documenting in ­writing all immunization discussions and parent refusals in the patient’s record. 

Concerns about putting other patients at risk: Doctors’ offices and clinics can ­manage the risks of transmission of vaccine-­preventable diseases in their facilities by adopting the same ­methods used to control other communicable diseases.
Excluding patients from your practice whose parents decline immunizations is not deemed the best public health strategy.

Diphtheria
Tetanus
Pertussis
Measles
Mumps
Rubella
Polio
Hib
Hepatitis A & B
Varicella
Meningococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease 
Influenza
Rotavirus
Human Papillomavirus

RESOURCES
TO HELP
PARENTS
BETTER 
UNDERSTAND
VACCINES

There are multiple resources that can provide accurate information on vaccines to ­parents. They include medical organizations such as AAFP, AAP and AMA. Other ­organizations include:

CDC: Information on immunization, vaccines and the diseases they prevent. www.cdc.gov/vaccines

Children’s Hospital – Vaccine Education Center: The Center seeks to dispel some of the common misconceptions and misinformation surrounding childhood vaccines.  
www.chop.edu

Immunization Action Coalition: Provides childhood, 
	adolescent and adult immunization information and ­education materials www.immunize.org

Immunization Gateway: Links to many expert immunization resources available on the internet. www.immunofacts.com/

Institute for Vaccine Safety: Information on vaccines currently in the media including anthrax, hepatitis B, MMR, and thimerosal. www.vaccinesafety.edu/

National Network for Immunization Information: Information about immunization including a guide to evaluate ­vaccination on the web. www.immunizationinfo.org/

WE INVITE BOTH HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND
CONSUMERS TO CALL OUR
CDC-INFO CONTACT CENTER
800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
IN ENGLISH, EN ESPAÑOL – 24/7
We provide a wealth of reliable ­information on immunization, ­vaccines, and the diseases they prevent.

Logo Department of Health and Human Services
Logo Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Safer, Healthier People

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/downloads/f_parents_quesvax_hcp_508.rtf