Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics

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Our Experts in the Media

• Amid measles outbreak, New York closes religious exemption for vaccinations – but most states retain it – 6.28.19 – Pew Research Center
  New York recently became the fifth state to enact a law requiring children in public school to be vaccinated unless they have a valid medical reason. Most states, however, allow children to be exempt from vaccinations due to religious concerns, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Some of these exemptions were added “at least in part owing to the lobbying efforts of the Christian Science Church,” according to an article in the Annual Review of Public Health by Dr. Douglas Diekema, a bioethicist at Seattle Children’s.  

• We’re finally studying how to combat the anti-vax movement, but the methods may surprise you – 5.20.19 – Popular Science
  Perhaps one of the most promising methods thus far might come as something of a surprise: approach the conversation with parents as if it’s assumed that they’re going to vaccinate their kids. “I was having these conversations with parents and I heard about their concerns, and I realized that there wasn’t much I had in my communication toolkit to be able to draw upon,” said Dr. Doug Opel, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Parents, he explains, are looking to their pediatricians for reassurance – so clinicians better know what to say and how to say it. Opel’s first step toward understanding the problem was simply to look at how pediatricians were already dealing with it. 

• Facing up to injustice in genome science – 4.18.19 – Nature
  A growing number of researchers have made consultation and community involvement central to their work with Indigenous and other marginalized populations. Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison, a geneticist and bioethicist at Seattle Children’s, interviewed Native American leaders, educators and community members about their concerns and suggestions on how to improve genetic research in tribal communities. “If tribes feel empowered to make decisions for themselves, rather than relying on other people, that may lead to greater engagement,” Garrison said.
  
  
• Photo Gallery: UC's 'Research & Innovation Week' showcases extraordinary work – 4.11.19 – University of Cincinnati News 
  At UC's R&I Hutton Ethics Lecture, keynote speaker Dr. Benjamin Wilfond from Seattle Children's Research Institute asked, "Why does medical research and clinical work have to exist separate from one another?"

• How is measles still a problem in Washington? – 3.26.19 – Seattle Met
  A recent measles outbreak in southwest Washington escalated to over 50 confirmed cases. Despite the evidence behind vaccines, people usually stick to what they feel is true, says Dr. Douglas Diekema, an emergency physician at Seattle Children’s. “It doesn’t matter what the data shows,” he says. “A story will always trump data.”
  
  
• Is refusing vaccine for child after near-death crisis parental abuse or neglect under Oregon law? What the experts say – 3.24.19 – The Oregonian 
  Dr. Doug Opel, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s, deals with parents who are reluctant to vaccine their children all the time. “I guess I would say one could really argue that a parent’s refusal of a recommended vaccine is on some level neglectful,” said Opel. “But there’s a separate question whether a state ought to get involved and remove their decision-making authority.” That question quickly took center stage in the vaccination debate when Oregon doctors recently publicized the case of a 6-year-old boy who spent eight weeks in intensive care because he got tetanus.