Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/542735
Health and Wellness Magazine • 41 Fear Fuels Rising Trend "I'd say that a fifth of physicians saying that 10 percent or more of their families are asking to spread out vaccines is very significant," says Dr. Allison Kempe of Children's Hospital Colorado. Kempe, lead author of a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics, found 93 percent of 534-responding pediatricians surveyed from across the country reported that, in any given month, they were asked at least once to delay vaccines. One in five doctors said that 10 percent or more of their parents had requested delays. "If you look at it in terms of an individual child, it might not seem significant. But if you look at it at a population level, then you pretty quickly get into a situation where there's not enough herd immunity," Kempe says, referring to having enough members in a community immune to an infection to protect those who cannot be vaccinated. For instance, measles requires a 95-percent immune rate. In a recent CDC survey, Colorado held the lowest percentage for measles-immunized kindergartners in the nation at 82 percent. Reasons vary for straying from the CDC schedule, which includes 49 doses of 14 vaccines (many combined) by age 6, ranging from wanting to reduce the pain associated with so many shots to belief that the targeted diseases aren't a threat to their children, according to Kempe's study. But fear of side effects, both short- and long-term, ranks high for many parents. "My reasoning at the time was just being so unsure," says Troy, who lives in Thornton with her husband, son and daughter, Freja, 2. "There's so much scary stuff out there on both sides and not being really well-versed, it (getting the shots at a slower pace) just seemed like it was the safest way." Fears have made requests for delayed shots "all too common" in her practice, says Dr. Stephanie Stevens of Advanced Pediatrics Associates in Centennial. "People want to do the right thing for their kids. Pretty much everything we do in life has a risk. Vaccines are not risk-free either. But once you look at the rest — at these illnesses that really kill and really hurt children — and realize that these are not diseases that we want to re-emerge in this country, you realize the best way to prevent that is by vaccinating." "I think I kind of got lucky with that," says Troy, 31. "I initially sought out a pediatrician who would be comfortable with the other crunchy things I do, so I found someone who was used to those kinds of things." But whether Troy was "lucky" or not represents a growing debate. As the number of parents asking for immunization schedules that go against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's approved timetable rises, and as communicable diseases such as measles and whooping cough re-emerge in the United States (see sidebox), some pediatricians (including the American Academy of Pediatrics) are stepping up efforts to reverse the trend and urge CDC adherence. Meanwhile, patient-choice advocates fear an over-response has led to bullying parents who deserve to make their own decision. Pertussis cases reported to the Colorado Department of Public Health jumped from 419 in 2011 to 1,516 in 2012, the highest number of cases the state had seen in 60 years. In 2014, 644 measles cases from 27 states, including Colorado, were reported to the Centers for Disease Control, a record number since 2000. A new law in Colorado (HB- 14 1288) requires schools and childcare centers to have their vaccination rates available upon request. Dr. Allison Kempe of Children's Hospital Colorado Dr. Stephanie Stevens of Advanced Pediatrics Associates in Centennial