Iwas shocked and saddened when I read about the potential new vaccine policy in Florida yesterday. As a pediatrician, I’ve seen many sick children over the years, many unvaccinated and struck by diseases that could have been prevented.

I remember the five-month-old baby with high fevers for three days that came into the ER with his distraught parents. We did an array of tests that included a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to see if he had meningitis or a blood infection. The child had not been vaccinated, and over the next few days, we diagnosed him with meningitis caused by strep pneumoniae, a disease which could have been prevented by a vaccine.

GP using ophthalmoscope to examine health of babys retina and vitreous humor (Photo by Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Universal Imag

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