As a physician and a father, the vaccine debate affects me on multiple levels. I’ve been through training in epidemiology and biostatistics, and I administer vaccines on a routine basis, but I frequently deal with parents and patients who choose not to vaccinate or try to follow alternate vaccine schedules. Level-headed discourse can often be difficult, so I was pleased with Zubin Damania, MD‘s recent video blog and his ideas for better communication between healthcare providers and patients with concerns about vaccines:
I don’t purport that this is the only viable approach, but I can say with some certainty that the current science supports routine immunization for multiple vaccine-preventable childhood illnesses. Vaccinate your kids, and yourself. If you have concerns, speak with your healthcare provider and other qualified professionals. Sometimes our intuitions as parents are wrong. Sometimes we as physicians are wrong. But the only way to improve our understanding is to continue studying the problem and listen to what the rigorous scientific results tell us.
If you’re interested in more from Dr. Damania, check out his YouTube Channel, or follow him on Twitter.
