— Ben Carson on Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 in the CNN GOP presidential debate

"But it is true that we are probably giving way too many in too short a period of time. And a lot of pediatricians now recognize that, and I think are cutting down on the number and the proximity in which those are done, and I think that’s appropriate."

Are pediatricians cutting down on the number and proximity of vaccines? As for Trump’s claim about autism, as PolitiFact has noted before, decades of epidemiological research have demonstrated autism rates do not increase when vaccines are introduced to a population.

We contacted Carson’s campaign to ask for his evidence and did not get a reply. . . .

A survey of 534 pediatricians done for the American Academy of Pediatricians in 2012 showed that 93 percent reported that within a typical month some parents asked to spread out the vaccinations. The vast majority thought these parents were putting their children at risk for disease but thought they would build trust with the families if they agreed to the request.

While there is anecdotal evidence that some pediatricians have acquiesced to parents’ requests to delay vaccinations, that decision is not rooted in public health or science.

. . . There is no evidence that pediatricians are cutting down the number and proximity of vaccines based on any conclusion by them that there have been too many in too short a period of time.

Carson has provided no evidence to support his claim. We rate this claim Pants on Fire.

(It's interesting that in the videos of the debate where Carson said there are probably "way too many in too short a time," they conveniently left out the part about  "a lot of pediatricians now recognize that. . ." at CBS News  and the Washington Post .)

SO. . . was Carson not telling the truth when he said other doctors are concerned about the vaccine load and are cutting back?  

Politifact.com is saying 1) that a survey in 2012 showed almost all doctors had requests to delay vaccines and the MDs complied, and 2) "there is no evidence the that pediatricians are cutting down the number and proximity of vaccines based on any conclusions by them. . . "  

I want to ask any thinking person to consider what would happen to ANY DOCTOR who openly advocated for an alternative schedule because of safety concerns.  I'm sure the attacks on Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Dr. Bob Sears are very familiar to the medical community.  IF doctors are not following the recommended schedule, they're probably keeping a very low profile about it.  It was incredibly courageous of Dr. Carson to say what he did and look at the backlash he's facing.

Change is creeping in however under the guise of placating parents.  Yes, earlier this year major news outlets were talking about doctors being pressured to use an alternative schedule and they were going along with it, even though they didn't think parents were right in their concerns.

The NY Times covered it. 

USA Today

Fox News

I wonder if what other doctors tell Dr. Carson in private is different from what they'd tell the NY Times and Fox News.  

The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and OurKidsASD.  Lee Silsby is one of the most respected compounding pharmacies in the country and is committed to serving the needs of the Autism community. OurkidsASD is an online retailer for nutritional supplements for patients with special needs. OurkidsASD carries thousands of products from more than 60 brands and offers free ground shipping on all orders.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of  The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which is on sale now from Skyhorse Publishing.