Jay N. Gordon (born 1948) is an American

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

, lecturer, and author. He is well-known within the anti-vaccine movement for his promotion of

vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

. He is also a long-time advocate of

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

; he became a member of the International Health Advisory Council of the

La Leche League La Leche League International (LLLI) () is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that organizes advocacy, education, and training related to breastfeeding. It is present in about 89 countries. The aim of the charity is to provide mother to ...

in 2005. Gordon's patients have included Eliza Jane Scovill and the son of the actress and anti-vaccine activist

Jenny McCarthy Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named their Playmate of ...

Views on vaccination

Gordon claims that, to an individual child, the risks of vaccination often outweigh its benefits. Therefore, he stopped following the recommended

vaccine schedule A vaccination schedule is a series of vaccinations, including the timing of all doses, which may be either recommended or compulsory, depending on the country of residence. A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to ...

for his patients in 1980, although he still administers vaccinations to some children on a case-by-case basis. Gordon has cited the debunked connection between

vaccines and autism Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise, and that the vaccine ingredients do not cause it. Vaccinologist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim a ...

among the alleged risks to children that prevent him from routinely administering vaccinations. He has signed hundreds of personal-belief exemptions to school vaccine requirements. In a 2015 interview with

Ben Tracy Benjamin Sampair Tracy is an American journalist known for his work as a national correspondent for CBS News since January 2008. He is the White House correspondent for the ''CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell'' and '' CBS This Morning''. Ca ...

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

, Gordon was asked about the risk of contagion should someone with

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

walk into his office, given that most of his patients delay or avoid the

measles vaccine Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%, outbreaks of ...

. Gordon responded: "You just said it, they'd get measles. Not meningitis, not the plague, not Ebola, they'd get measles. Measles is almost an always a benign childhood illness." However, Deborah Lehman at

Cedars Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

says: "People don't remember children staying in dark rooms because they have measles and the light hurts their eyes and developing brain swelling and serious developmental problems, we've given people a false sense of security and it's situations like this, outbreaks like this isneyland measles outbreakthat really remind us of the importance of these diseases and really the benefit of vaccine." As of 2021, Dr. Gordon supports the COVID vaccine for eligible children and adults. “Vaccine immunity is better than disease immunity. “

Selected works

Gordon is the author and co-author of several books and a DVD, including: * ''Brighter Baby'' (1999) * ''Listening to Your Baby: A New Approach to Parenting Your Newborn'' (2002) * ''Good Nights: The Happy Parents' Guide to the Family Bed, and a Peaceful Night's Sleep!'' (2002) * ''The ADD and ADHD Cure: The Natural Way to Treat Hyperactivity and Refocus Your Child'' (2008) * ''Vaccinations? Assessing the Risks and Benefits'' (DVD) (2008) * ''Preventing Autism: What You Can Do to Protect Your Children Before and After Birth'' (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Jay American pediatricians Breastfeeding activists American anti-vaccination activists American medical writers American family and parenting writers Physicians from California People from Santa Monica, California American health activists Living people 1948 births