Dr Tara Zandvliet is a general practitioner in San Diego, and has written 141 out of the 486 total medical exemptions given to San Diego school children since 2015
A single doctor is responsible for a third of all shot exemptions written in San Diego, California, documents obtained by Voice of San Diego reveal.
Dr Tara Zandvliet has written notes for 141 families saying that their children did not have to get otherwise mandatory vaccinations before starting school since the summer of 2015.
She primarily cited immune system issues (or a family history of them) and allergies - but allergic reactions are extremely rare.
In fact, one study found that out of 25 million vaccines administered, just 33 people had anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reactions.
So far, the southern Californian city has remained safe from the measles outbreaks sweeping the US.
But with six cases reported elsewhere in the state and outbreaks in four other states, health officials are on high alert, urging parents to make sure to get their children vaccinated.
Pockets of anti-vaxxers across the nation are fueling a rise in cases of the measles, the highly contagious and potentially life-threatening infection.
These families are typically fearful that vaccinations can actually harm their children, largely due to either religious beliefs or now-debunked research.
A number of states (17) have so-called 'philosophical exemptions' that allow parent to not vaccinate their children because they 'object to immunizations because of personal, moral or other beliefs.'
The philosophical objection has given credence to parents' misguided beliefs and effectively sanctioned anti-vaccination sentiment in these states.
California used to have such an exemption, but after a significant measles outbreak struck Disneyland between December 2014 and April 2015, the state swiftly changed its laws. It now has some of the strictest vaccine laws in the nation.
But, of course, there are the very rare individuals that cannot get vaccinated, due to immune system disorders allergies, or other health concerns.
For that reason, medical exemptions cannot be done away with.
So while most doctors give these exemptions in only extraordinarily rare cases, they can do so at their discretion - and some may dole them out on a looser basis.
For example, the records obtained by Voice of San Diego via a public records request are redacted for names, but do list reasons given for exemptions. Dr Barnet Meltzer wrote an August 2016 exemption for one child because they had 'compromised immune system and risk of antigenic
