Garden City Pediatric Associates Vaccine Policy
Most Important Care We Provide
We are committed to providing the best care possible to all children, and our vaccination policy is consistent with that commitment. We firmly believe that vaccinating children is the single most important intervention we perform to promote the health of our patients. Countless studies have demonstrated that vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent serious and potentially fatal diseases. They prevent millions of deaths every year. All of the providers at Garden City
Pediatrics agree about the critical importance of childhood vaccines. If you have questions about vaccines, please discuss these with your healthcare provider. We are committed to engaging in discussion to explain the importance of vaccination.
Safe and Effective
Rigorous safety testing is performed before any vaccine is incorporated into the schedule of routine childhood immunizations. Numerous scientific studies, involving millions of children, have debunked the false claim of an association between vaccines and autism. Because vaccines prevent illnesses which cause devastating complications, including death, we strongly encourage all parents to vaccinate their children according to the schedule jointly published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice.
Required Vaccines
As a practice we have identified a subset of the routine immunizations that will be required for patients to receive care in our office. Note that these vaccines are all also required for school attendance. Because the illnesses they prevent can be easily spread from one patient to another, even with casual contact in our waiting room or hallways, these vaccines are necessary to protect both your child and all the other children in our practice from serious illness. In recognition of this safety issue, and our duty to protect all of our patients, we will not continue to see families who decline the following vaccines:
| Vaccine: | Prevents this serious illness: | Required ages: |
|---|---|---|
| DTaP | Pertussis (whooping cough) | 2 mo, 4 mo, 6 mo, 16 mo and 4 yrs |
| HIB | Meningitis | 2 mo, 4 mo, 6 mo, 16 mo and 4 yrs |
| PCV | Pneumonia | 2 mo, 4 mo, 6 mo, and 1 yr |
| IPV | Polio | 2 mo, 4 mo, 6 mo, and 4 yrs |
| MMR | Measles | 1 yr and 4 yrs |
| Meningococcal | Meningitis | 11 yrs and 16 yrs |
| Tdap | Pertussis (whooping cough) | 11 yrs |
Protecting Vulnerable Patients
All of the illnesses above cause serious infections, which can be life-threatening. They can also lead to severe complications like seizures, deafness, brain damage, respiratory arrest and paralysis. Refusing these vaccines puts others around your child at risk. These illnesses are especially dangerous to our patients who have underlying illnesses or are too young to have been vaccinated. To protect these vulnerable children in our care, our policy requires that all patients who can be immunized, receive these vaccines as a condition for being our patient. Moreover, we sincerely hope you will chose to protect your own children from all of the serious vaccine-preventable illnesses, in accordance with the recommended vaccine schedule.
Two Visit Rule
At the time of each visit you will have an opportunity to discuss your child’s vaccinations with your provider. Should you have further concerns or wish to delay the required vaccines, you will have until the next regularly scheduled appointment time to seek out further information and make your decision. You may elect to receive these vaccines at any time before the next check-up, but no later than the next routinely scheduled visit.
- For example, the 2 month vaccines must be given at or before the 4 month visit, and the 4 year old vaccines must be given at or before the 5 year old visit.
For consistency and clarity, we have adopted this ‘two visit rule’. If you decline any required vaccines for two visits in a row, you will be dismissed from our practice so that you may find a healthcare provider who shares your views. It is not safe or permissible to skip routine visits to avoid vaccinations. As mandated reporters we are required to file a report when medical care is being neglected. Regular visits enable us to ensure the appropriate growth and development of your child, and identify potential medical concerns, as well as answer your questions.
Schedule Adjustments
In some cases, we may agree to slightly alter the vaccination schedule, within the required timeline above, to accommodate parental preferences. However, please be advised that delaying vaccination leaves your child at risk of serious illness, and separating vaccines, to give one or two at a time over multiple visits, goes against expert advice. Additional visits may also result in additional insurance copayments.
Delayed immunization schedules also present an opportunity for errors. It is the responsibility of the parent to track any alternative vaccine schedule, and to inform any caregiver if a child is incompletely immunized. The medical evaluation of an under-immunized child with a fever may differ from that of a child immunized according to schedule.
New patients to the practice must be up to date on the vaccinations identified above, or be working toward a timely catch-up. Undue delays will result in dismissal from our practice.
Thank You!
We are so very grateful for the trust you have placed in us to care for your children, and we sincerely hope you will immunize them fully and on time to help keep them safe. We look forward to working together with you to keep your children healthy.
