This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Video: Paul A. Offit, MD, discusses religious exemptions from important vaccinations
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Paul A. Offit, MD, chief of the division of infectious diseases at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, recently sat down with Infectious Disease News to discuss his new book, Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine.
According to Offit, parents who refuse vaccination for their children on the basis of religious beliefs are placing their children at unnecessary risk, and their decision to withhold vaccination should not be given legal protection. He offers his advice for clinicians with patients who refuse vaccination and discusses the ongoing national debate about the risks vs. benefits of immunization, which recently has been rekindled amid a measles outbreak originating from California’s Disneyland.
Offit has made numerous television and radio appearances to discuss the dangers of vaccine refusal, including the Colbert Report, CBS This Morning, NPR and others, and he also wrote an op-ed about the issue, published in The New York Times.
For more information:
Offit PA. What Would Jesus Do About Measles? The New York Times. February 10, 2015:A21. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/opinion/what-would-jesus-do-about-measles.html?_r=0.
Disclosure: Offit reports no relevant financial disclosures.