NYT Practitioners nationwide are striving to do what’s best for children’s health, while staying supportive in the face of mistrust and confusion. As she examined 11-day-old Asher, her eighth patient of the day, Alissa Parker talked to his parents about his sleep habits, the nub of his umbilical cord that had yet to fall off and a harmless rash on his bottom.
Nine minutes into the appointment, she gently probed: Had they given any more thought to a shot that would protect Asher from respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V.? No, they demurred, not yet.
Dr. Parker, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Primary Plus, a community clinic in Ashland, Ky., did not push. Asher’s parents, Autumn and James Skaggs, had already declined the hepatitis B vaccine when he was born, and planned to refuse all the other routine childhood vaccinations.
“If there’s any way I can answer your questions and make you feel more comfortable about it, I’m happy to,” she said. Then she left the room. Across the country, clinicians like Dr. Parker, who also holds a doctorate in nursing practice, are contending with a sharp rise in vaccine hesitancy. They are trying to do what is best for children’s health while staying sensitive and supportive, even as they bear the brunt of parents’ mistrust and confusion.