Immunization Policy
Our Philosophy
At FAME Pediatrics, we believe that vaccines are crucial to every child’s health. We understand that parents may have many questions about vaccines and we are committed to taking the time during well visits to answer all your questions. While there is a lot of discussion of vaccinations in the media and among friends, sometimes it is not based on sound scientific understanding and research. We want to help you make thoughtful decisions based on reliable information, not fear.
Our Expertise
We want you to know the following:
1. Numerous well-designed, scientific studies have failed to demonstrate any connection between vaccines and autism or between the use of vaccine preservatives and autism.
2. The schedule and timing of vaccines as recommended by the CDC has been tested for both safety and effectiveness. Other schedules are completely untested. There is no evidence that “spreading out” vaccines reduces the rate of adverse events and it prolongs the time that your child is susceptible to these diseases. In addition, the recommended timing of booster doses is designed to occur when most children’s immunity may be waning. Spacing vaccines out in longer intervals may result in periods of renewed susceptibility.
3. There is no evidence that receiving multiple vaccines at one time “overwhelms” a child’s immune system.
4. There is no scientific evidence that combining different vaccines in single injections or giving multiple vaccines simultaneously poses any additional risk over giving vaccines separately. Indeed, we support the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation to use combination vaccines whenever possible to minimize the discomfort for children and ensure timely protection from disease. We do not stock single dose vaccines when combination preparations are available.
5. While side effects can occur, serious adverse effects like allergic reactions are rare.
6. We do provide the Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) for you to review prior to your child receiving the vaccine/s in our office. We encourage you to read through the information. These are also available to you directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/current-vis.html
We want to clearly communicate how important timely vaccinations are to your child’s health and the health of our community.
Our Services
WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING NEW FAMILIES WHO HAVE MADE A DECISION TO REFUSE VACCINATIONS.
For established patients who refuse vaccinations, we encourage these parents to schedule a meeting with our provider to discuss their decision.
As always, we remain committed to promoting your child’s health and safety. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with your family.