Pediatricians across the country are dealing with depreciated incentives to vaccinate children, and in addition, the doctors are being forced to pay out more as a result of the price gouge on several popular vaccines.
Current prices on three of the most advertised vaccines:
- Gardasil (cervical cancer) - $360.00 wholesale for three doses per person
- RotaTeq (Rotavirus) - $190.00 wholesale for three doses
- MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) - $86.00 for two doses
In addition to these "wholesale" costs, patients and insurance have to contribute more money to cover shipping costs, storing and inventory fees, and spoilage expenses.
Jon R. Almquist, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Task Force on Immunization claims that pediatricians are the lowest-paid physicians, but does not deny there is a pecuniary factor.
"Pediatricians are not looking to make huge profits off vaccines," said Jon R. Almquist, MD, FAAP. "We're in pediatrics because we care about children -- but we shouldn't be expected to subsidise the public health system and perform our jobs at a loss. We've carried this burden for long enough."
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there are currently 85 percent children who are vaccinated in the United States. Note, these numbers reflect the collection of national records provided by hospitals and pediatricians. More parents are unable to afford inoculations and with the growing number of parents educated on the precipice these vaccines pose to one's health, the number may be far higher on the unvaccinated side than the AAP would like to admit.
The pharmaceutical industry has made billions of dollars from the pockets of parents and insurance companies who either believe the vaccines are necessary or are forced to choose vaccinations under pressure and intimidation.
In the last twenty years, the U.S. government has engineered a nation-wide experiment on children by ordering the Mandatory Childhood Vaccine Schedule. The tragedies of this enforcement can be seen and felt in all social and economical classes.
The poorest residents and citizens in the U.S. may be denied Medicaid just for refusing to vaccinate their babies. Other programmes that affect the unvaccinated include federal and state benefits such as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program - a necessity to many who cannot afford nutritious meals for their children on a daily basis.
The fear of not being able to enroll their children in daycare and public school causes most parents to vaccinate or sign a legal document that basically puts the parents in the hot seat when future issues arise.
Copyright ©2007 Anai Rhoads Ford. All Rights Reserved.
