Should pediatricians accept unvaccinated children?

March 27, 2025 3 AM PT

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With the first two U.S. measles deaths in a decade and eight measles cases already popping up in California this year, physicians are again facing a moral quandary: Should they turn away families who don’t vaccinate or keep them in their practices in the hopes of changing their minds?

Jenny Gold

Jenny Gold covers early childhood development and education for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in 2023, she spent nearly 14 years covering healthcare for radio and print as a senior correspondent at Kaiser Health News. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, NPR, Reveal and Marketplace, among others. A Berkeley native, she is a graduate of Brown University and was previously a Kroc fellow at NPR.

Kate Sequeira

Kate Sequeira is the audience editor for the Los Angeles Times early childhood education initiative. She worked previously as a production specialist for The Times’ Reading by 9 literacy program.