One very important step in ensuring the health of any child is to make sure he or she receives immunizations at the correct time.

Please follow these links (PDF files) to view the 2015 Immunization Schedules for specific age ranges as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and your physicians at Pediatric Consultants.

Birth Through 6 Years Old | 6 Years Through 18 Years Old | 19 Years And Older

I thought this would be a good time to share the thoughts of the physicians at Pediatric Consultants.  Simply put, we strongly believe that vaccines are safe and necessary.  The physicians in our group feel so strongly on this subject that we have decided that we are unwilling to have patients in our practice who choose not to vaccinate.  Not vaccinating a child carries significant risks that we are just not willing to accept.  

The recent outbreak of measles shows what can happen if people make a choice not to vaccinate.  Measles is a serious and preventable disease.  This kind of outbreak does not happen if everyone is properly vaccinated.  It is hard for me to understand the fears that lead some parents to make a choice and accept these risks. Here is an interesting and related discussion (five-minute audio) from this morning’s NPR Morning Edition (follow this link below and then click on play/"Listen to the Story"):   

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/04/383724467/the-psychology-behind-why-some- kids-go-unvaccinated

Lastly, we believe parents who choose not to vaccinate can put other children at risk.  Infants, young children, and immunosuppressed children are at increased risk during a outbreaks of preventable infections. 

Sincerely,

Noel K. Frizzell, M.D.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Immunization Website (Click Below)

For more information about immunizations from the Center for Disease Control, click here.