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The Pros and Cons of Infant Vaccines
What's Best for Your Baby? By Dr. Edward R. Rosick
, she feels some hesitation about some of the newer vaccines like hepatitis B. "While I think the vaccine is probably safe, my daughter has no chance of getting hepatitis B at home, so I didn't feel she needed to get it right after she was born," Maginnis says. She also said she felt that perhaps doctors needed to screen their patients better for certain vaccines rather than vaccinate all infants with all available vaccines.
Physicians sometimes have a difficult time convincing the parents of newborns of the need for vaccinations, especially when many of the diseases vaccines protect against no longer seem like a threat.
Dr. Rebecca A. Baum, pediatrician with Medical and Surgical Associates of State College, Penn., says that she tries to keep an open mind when listening to the concerns of parents. "If a parent is skeptical about a vaccine, I ask them to tell me what their concerns are," says Dr. Baum. "I think that by just listening to them I can better help them understand what vaccines are about."
However, Dr. Baum says that she feels it is her medical duty to recommend the vaccines that are recommended by the American Board of Pediatrics. "I feel that I need to convey to parents my strong feelings about the worth of vaccinations," she says. "If in the end they still don't want their children to be vaccinated, then we have them sign a form stating that they've understood what we've told them about vaccinations and they still wish their children not to get them."
There are a projected 200 vaccines waiting to come on the medical market in the next decade, and many of them will be for infants and children. Until full and definitive scientific analysis of the risks and benefits of vaccines are made top priority by the FDA, the NVIC and other groups skeptical of vaccinations will most assuredly continue to make their voices heard.
