We, at Longwood Pediatrics, feel that fully vaccinating your child is one of the most important things we do.
We firmly believe that all of the routine childhood vaccinations are safe and that the current vaccination schedule is based upon evidence derived from decades of rigorous research. We feel so strongly that we are not willing to engage in alternative vaccination schedules for our patients.
We understand that there is a some controversy regarding vaccine safety, and would be glad to discuss these issues with you. In this electronic era, information comes from many directions and in many different ways. Parents are often confronted with differing information and varied opinions regarding our children, including vaccinations and their safety. At times it can be a bit overwhelming and hard to decide whom to believe.
Some of the concerns about vaccines result because vaccines work so well that many of these vaccine preventable illnesses are no longer seen in the U.S. Many people no longer have first-hand knowledge of how deadly and terrible these diseases were and no longer fear them. Naturally, if you have never seen a child with Haemophilus (HIB) meningitis or paralyzed by polio, or any of the other vaccine preventable illnesses, then you don’t worry about these illnesses. We have seen many of these illnesses first-hand and feel that we have a duty to protect your child from them.
Another reason that many people worry about vaccine safety is a 1998 study in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet which claimed a link between MMR vaccine and autism. It is important to note that in February, 2010, the Lancet retracted that study as “false”.
We have reviewed all of the issues regarding vaccines including their safety, efficacy, side effects, and the controversies regarding purported side effects. Below, you will find links to sources we have reviewed and consider to be reliable. We encourage you to review these. After reading accurate information, we think that you will agree with us as we recommend that your child be vaccinated according to the schedule outlined by the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics).
We do not support alternative immunization schedules and will not support the practice of “splitting up the vaccines”. We are aware that there are individuals who have proposed alternative immunization schedules. These are not based upon any scientific evidence and are not proven regimens. These delayed schedules put the individual child and their contacts at risk for developing serious illness.
As always, please feel free to contact your provider to discuss any continued concerns and please take the time to visit the web-sites that we have provided to gain further information regarding vaccine safety