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Home > KQED Science News > As Vaccine Hesitancy Rises, UCSF’s Teddy Bear Clinic Takes the Sting Out of Shots
Podcast: KQED Science News
Episode:

As Vaccine Hesitancy Rises, UCSF’s Teddy Bear Clinic Takes the Sting Out of Shots
Category: Religion & Spirituality
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-08-15 14:00:27
Description:

A few hundred preschoolers and elementary school kids donned miniature white coats this week at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco to treat their teddy bears.

The pint-sized doctors performed pretend surgeries, scraped teeth, took X-rays and even wrapped their stuffed patients in colorful fiberglass casts.

“This can make the bone go back into place,” said 6-year-old Malcolm Turnbull, pointing at the orange cast on his teddy bear’s arm.

The children guided their bears through wooden MRI machines and placed superhero bandages after administering make-believe vaccines.

Diborah Wubshet helps June (2) give a teddy bear a pretend vaccine at the Teddy Bear Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco on Aug. 13, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

The event aimed to reduce any fear of needles, at a time when vaccine hesitancy is on the rise, and demystify common medical procedures.

“Most healthy kids see a doctor when they have an ear infection or they need a vaccination, both not very pleasant things,” said Stefan Friedrichsdorf, professor of pediatrics and the chief of the Division of Pediatric Pain, Palliative and Integrative Medicine at UCSF. “The teddy clinic allows them to interact with clinicians and see that they are normal people, which reduces their anxiety and fear.”

Friedrichsdorf, who has treated children with measles, five of whom died, because they weren’t vaccinated, said the stakes are high.

“Not vaccinating your child is a choice, but it has very dangerous consequences.”
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