Vaccinations Vs. Alternative Medicine

KYW's Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There is a very interesting report from the CDC. Over the past few years we have been seeing a resurgence of some infections that had been virtually eliminated primarily due to the fact that there has been a small movement away from 100% vaccination.

The key to vaccine programs working is the strength of providing the vaccine to the community, but there are those who feel that vaccines may not be the right thing for them. As a result, we are seeing pockets of problems such as measles and mumps.

The new CDC report focusing on work done at Penn State looks at what groups might be more likely to not be vaccinated with the goal of providing greater education. The CDC found that children who received certain types of complementary and alternative medicine were less likely to have received a flu shot.

Child vaccination was significantly less common in households that reported using alternative therapies for their children.

One thought is that those physicians who make alternative medicine a part of their practice educate their patients about the importance of immunizations.