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Pennsylvania suspends requirements for childhood immunizations, and that has pediatricians worried

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced late last month that it was temporarily suspending requirements for children’s immunizations, worrying doctors that the move sends the wrong message to parents and could mark a return for vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.

In this May 17, 2019, photo, a measles vaccination is seen at the Knox County Health Department in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Samoa closed all its schools on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, banned children from public gatherings and mandated that everybody get vaccinated after declaring an emergency due to a measles outbreak. For the past three weeks, the Pacific island nation of 200,000 people has been in the grip of a measles epidemic that has been exacerbated by low immunization rates. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)
In this May 17, 2019, photo, a measles vaccination is seen at the Knox County Health Department in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Samoa closed all its schools on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, banned children from public gatherings and mandated that everybody get vaccinated after declaring an emergency due to a measles outbreak. For the past three weeks, the Pacific island nation of 200,000 people has been in the grip of a measles epidemic that has been exacerbated by low immunization rates. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)Read morePaul Vernon / AP