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Physician's First Watch for March 21, 2008
David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief

Parental "Vaccine Skeptics" Increasing

March Madness and Match Day

Parental "Vaccine Skeptics" Increasing

An increasing number of parents worry that routine vaccinations will harm their children, the New York Times reports.

In addition to medical and religious exemptions offered by all states, some 20 states offer personal-belief exemptions, and the number of parents taking advantage of them more than doubled between 1991 and 2004, according to the Times.

The article reports that the typical unvaccinated child used to be impoverished, but now often comes from well-heeled and well-educated parents.

A San Diego pediatrician is quoted as saying that the "very success of immunizations has turned out to be an Achilles' heel." He continues, "Most of these parents have never seen measles, and don't realize it could be a bad disease so they turn their concerns to unfounded risks."

But there are physician contrarians as well. One says "I don't think it is such a critical public health issue that we should force parents into it," according to the Times.

New York Times story (One-time registration required)

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March Madness and Match Day

It's spring here in the northern hemisphere, and with it come both March Madness (the college basketball tournaments) and Match Day. We hope you matched well (and we hope your favorite teams make the Final Four).

Wall Street Journal article on Match Day (Free)

New York Times basketball bracket (Free)

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Physician Editors contributing to this issue were: Susan Sadoughi, MD, André Sofair, MD, MPH, Jacob Reider, MD, and Danielle Bowen Scheurer, MD, MSc.

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