As of last month, 102 people in 14 states were reported to have measles, and most cases stem from the outbreak linked to Disneyland in California. The vast majority of physicians (92 percent) have taken a firm stance: They believe this outbreak is directly attributable to parents not vaccinating their children.
That is based on a survey from SERMO, a social network for physicians, which had 3,099 respondents.
The anti-vaccine movement has gained attention in the past few weeks due to the measles outbreak, and many physicians and healthcare providers are not shying away from expressing their opinions on the matter.
Some physicians have taken zero-tolerance position on parents who do not vaccinate their children. "I will not accept a child in my practice if they do not vaccinate," said Linda Girgis, MD, a family practitioner in New Jersey. "No child will die from a vaccine-preventable disease on my watch."
Another physician who responded to the survey suggested that it isn't always as easy as banning all people who are anti-vaccine. Instead, this physician turned to education. "We have a large community of anti-vaxxers in my state and it would be difficult to refuse them outright," the physician said. "Instead, I use persuasion to try to educate them and make my advocacy position very clear. I have had some limited success with this tactic."
However, some physicians fall in that 8 percent who do not believe the outbreak is caused by people not vaccinating their children; and indeed, some physicians campaign actively against vaccines. One such physician is Jack Wolfson, MD, a cardiologist in Arizona who is making the rounds speaking out against vaccinating children. He told CNN (and multiple other news outlets) that vaccines inject unnatural chemicals into bodies, and that "children have the right to get infections, we have immune systems for that purpose."
For what it's worth, a 12-year study recently concluded that the measles vaccine presented no increased risk for seven neurological, blood or immune system disorders.
Beyond healthcare workers, other people of influence have weighed in on the vaccine debate. For example President Barack Obama and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner both urged parents to vaccinate their children.
Find out what healthcare workers should know about measles here.