Sean Gallagher is a pediatrician.  He can be reached on Twitter @TheKidKidDoc​.

The non-acceptance of vaccine-hesitant families is a problem in pediatrics

Physician
July 26, 2021

Some pediatric practices refuse to provide care for children with vaccine-hesitant parents.

Those pediatricians are quick to offer rationalizations for this decision.  Many of their reasons are compelling.  I’m confident you yourself are thinking of some right now.  This piece isn’t intended to be a deep dive into those reasons.  No justification for refusing care to certain children changes the outcomes.

We assume that these families end up at organizations like mine: …

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The non-acceptance of vaccine-hesitant families is a problem in pediatrics

When an anti-vaccination organization convinces a physician to join their ranks

Physician
February 26, 2018

It’s always a coup when an anti-vaccination organization can convince a physician to join their ranks. They act like it provides a thin veneer of legitimacy to their pseudoscientific cause. This was recently the case with an anti-vaccination organization in Ohio (my home state.) They recruited the former medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. You may remember his infamous article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in January 2017. …

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When an anti-vaccination organization convinces a physician to join their ranks

Minnesota and measles: Andrew Wakefield targets refugees

Physician
August 20, 2017

I had the pleasure of traveling to Rochester, Minnesota for a wedding this summer.  Minnesota is home to more people from Somalia than any other state. My home of Columbus, Ohio is also a hub for people from Somalia.  As a pediatric resident, I take care of Somali-American children and work with Somali American healthcare providers every day.

It was surreal, then, to set foot in a state recovering from a …

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Minnesota and measles: Andrew Wakefield targets refugees

Anonymous anti-vaccination Twitter accounts attacks this pediatrician. He gets louder.

Physician
June 18, 2017

“We’ve had a number of calls about ‘inaccuracies’ in your letter to the editor,” a member of my hospital’s media relations team told me. “Because of that, we’ll have to review it.” I had written a letter to the editor of our city’s major newspaper regarding immunizations and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program’s vaccine court. I was responding to another letter alleging that the court’s mere existence meant vaccine …

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Anonymous anti-vaccination Twitter accounts attacks this pediatrician. He gets louder.

The one immigrant who has nothing good to contribute to the American story

Physician
March 16, 2017

To be clear, this is about one person.  It warms my heart to know that people want to come and start new lives as Americans.  Some of the best doctors got their education and training overseas.  Not only have I worked with many of them, I’m related to three by marriage.  Most people have heard of Mr. Andrew Wakefield.   He used to be a British doctor before being stripped of …

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The one immigrant who has nothing good to contribute to the American story