Recently federal officials reported that measles cases in the U.S. have reached their highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of the cases involving children of parents who opted against vaccination.
Doctors say worried parents tend to find scientific data less persuasive than the horror stories they hear about vaccine side-effects online or from friends. One expert said attitudes are likely to change eventually, but only after children start dying again of diseases parents have come to think of as obsolete.
"I think people have a hard time separating out what's reliable information and what's not reliable," Dr. Ruben J. Rucoba, a Wheaton, Ill., pediatrician. "What gets attention is not the statistics, but the story. All it takes is one friend of a cousin of a neighbor who they can point to who says, 'My child got an immunization and now he has a problem.' "
Rucoba and other pediatricians say they are frustrated and worried about how to reassure parents.
"The number of people who are trying to make changes in the vaccination schedule based on what they have heard or seen or read on the Internet is climbing every year," Rucoba said. "Even those who ultimately decide not to alter the schedule have questions about it, and every year we spend more time talking about immunizations with parents."
