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UMKC School of Medicine supports Missouri State Medical Association vaccination awareness and education campaign

The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine is joining with the Missouri State Medical Association and physicians, hospitals, universities and organizations across the state to raise awareness and promote education about the importance of childhood vaccinations.

The current issue of Missouri Medicine, the Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association features the article, “I’ve Heard Some Things That Scare Me: Responding With Empathy to Parents’ Fears of Vaccinations,” by Kenneth Haller, MD, and Anthony Scalzo, MD, Pediatricians with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. In the article, they examine the science around vaccinations as well as the many messages that parents get from the media, from well intentioned but poorly informed anti-vaccine advocates, and even from doctors that can lead parents to be wary of immunizations for their own children.

Also in the current issue, Gary Pettett, MD, Missouri State Medical Association president and emeritus professor at the UMKC School of Medicine, addresses "Routine Vaccination: A Growing Crisis of Public Confidence" in his President's Forum article.

In November 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics published the results of a national survey of parents of young children regarding their attitudes toward vaccination. It found that more than 1 in 10 parents surveyed currently use an alternative vaccination schedule, and that a large proportion of parents that do use the recommended vaccination schedule have misgivings about it, and have considered switching to an alternative, less protective schedule.

Drs. Haller, Scalzo, and Pettett propose that if physicians do not acknowledge and address the emotional basis of parental vaccine refusal, they will not be persuasive. While a fact-based explanation of vaccine safety is essential, physicians must recognize that they can and should use their experience and expertise to counter the fear-mongering of vaccine deniers.

For more information, visit the Missouri State Medical Association website at www.msma.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to read “I’ve Heard Some Things That Scare Me: Responding With Empathy to Parents’ Fears of Vaccinations”

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Click here to read "Routine Vaccination: A Growing Crisis of Public Confidence"