Will your child be protected against viruses and diseases if other kids aren’t? Public health officials are concerned, as new numbers show more parents are skipping the recommended immunizations for their children — citing, among other reasons, that they are unnecessary.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that vaccinations are one of the best ways parents can protect infants, children, and teens from 16 potentially harmful diseases — among them, whooping cough, polio, measles, rubella, diphtheria, smallpox, yellow fever, and tetanus. The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer opportunities a disease has to spread.

Physicians are increasingly dismissing or turning away patients for refusing to follow a vaccine schedule.

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But new data shows that nearly 90 percent of pediatricians now see parents in their practice who opt out of vaccinations entirely, compared to just 74.5 percent in 2006. The physicians surveyed in both 2006 and 2013 said they believe parents today are skipping immunizations for their kids because they feel they’re either unnecessary, will cause a child too much discomfort, the vaccines will burden their immune system — or some combination of the three.

What the survey also shows is that physicians are increasingly dismissing or turning away patients for their refusal to follow a vaccine schedule. Some practices even mandate that if families aren’t vaccinated — they can’t be seen.

In 2006, 6.1 percent of pediatricians reported “always” dismissing patients for continued vaccine refusal. In 2013 that percentage increased to 11.7 percent.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reiterated in a new policy statement Monday that doctors should “continue to engage” with “vaccine-hesitant” parents in an effort to modify their views on the shots, The Seattle Times and others reported.

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Studies have shown that direct conversations between physician and patient, explaining why vaccines are necessary, often change a hesitant parent’s mind. “Nearly half of parents who were initially vaccine-hesitant ultimately accepted vaccines after practitioners provided a rationale for vaccine administration,” researchers from the Committee on Infectious Diseases stated in a new report.

Related: Kids’ Vaccines Forced in California

All 50 states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Exemptions vary from state to state, but all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons. Almost all states also grant exemptions for people who have religious beliefs against immunizations. Currently, 18 states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of personal, moral, or other beliefs.