What is the AMA’s stance on opting out of routine vaccinations for newborns and children?
In June, 2015, the American Medical Association took an official stance on the notion of parents conscientiously opting out of the traditional vaccine schedule. While this is not necessarily surprising, it could trigger a ripple effect against the informed vaccination rights many advocates have worked so hard to establish – particularly if state legislatures place great weight on this group’s position.
In its statement, the AMA fervently urges the United States to incentivize states to bar non-medical exemptions from state vaccination laws – such as those required for enrollment in the public school system. Citing a “re-emergence of vaccine-preventable disease,” the AMA has vowed to assist in seeking more stringent state regulation of the matter, which will in turn require parents to adhere to the state’s definition of a safe and effective vaccination schedule – regardless of the individual family’s convictions.
According to the press release, the AMA wishes to work closely with state health boards to determine what vaccine schedules are necessary to avoid the outpeak of so-called preventable communicable disease. The group also describes non-medical opt-outs as solely due to the “convenience” and/or “preference” of the parents, and makes no mention of the well-documented side effects of many of the mainstream inoculations used in the United States today.
Moreover, the AMA states that physicians and healthcare personnel should be required to hold, as part of office policy, that refusing vaccinations is not an option for patients – and parents choosing not to vaccinate should essentially find healthcare elsewhere.
In a statement by an AMA board member, “[w]hen people are immunized they also help prevent the spread of disease to others….As evident from the recent measles outpeak at Disneyland, protecting community health in today’s mobile society requires that policymakers not permit individuals from opting out of immunization solely as a matter of personal preference or convenience.”
Over the past generation, vaccines have been linked with life-threatening side effects and death in thousands of American patients. In the 1980’s, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established to hold funds in trust for parents and child-victims, presumably acknowledging the link between vaccines and injury.
Said another way, there is much more to a parent’s non-medical opt-out than personal preference or convenience – particularly when their child’s life may be at risk.
If you believe a vaccine injured your child, please do not hesitate to contact the national vaccine injury attorney Leah Durant right away at (202)800-1711.