Where we stand
Our providers vaccinate their children according to the standard vaccine schedule.
Delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time goes against expert recommendations and can put your child at risk for serious illness (or even death). The recommended vaccine schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics is the result of years of scientific study and data gathering, and has saved the lives of thousands of children.
Vaccines protect your friends and our community.
By not vaccinating your child you are jeopardizing the health of our community and placing vulnerable children at greater risk; an unvaccinated child can carry and spread life-threatening germs to others. Children at risk of getting sick includes newborns, young children who have not yet completed their vaccines, children with an immunodeficiency who are not allowed to get all the vaccines, and some children with cancer. Pregnant women are also at increased risk. We see all these patients in our exam rooms and they all sit in our waiting rooms. We believe it is our job to protect these patients and the health of the community.
Vaccines are a safe way to protect your child from deadly diseases.
It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. However, since many children have not been vaccinated over the past several years some of these diseases are now making a come back. In our own community we have seen outbreaks of pertussis (“whooping cough”) and measles. Measles cases are the highest they have been in 20 years in the US. In Washington, the number of measles cases increased drastically in 2014, making this year the highest number of reported cases since 1996. In other countries, there has also been a rise in polio – a disease that has not been seen in the United States since 1979. In a world connected by plane travel, it will take just one traveler to risk resurgence of polio in the United States.
Vaccines are a safe and important part of your child’s health.
We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers.
We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. We will do everything we can to reassure you that vaccinating your child according to the recommended schedule is the right thing to do.
Thank you for your attention in reading the facts on vaccines, and please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with any one of us.
Sincerely,
Your Pediatrics Northwest Providers