Advocare Children's Medical Associates believes strongly in providing the best comprehensive, compassionate pediatric care to our patients, families and community. YOUR HEALTH IS OUR PURPOSE. We believe FULLY in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including all the vaccines we have given to our own children and grandchildren. We never promote or encourage a non-standard vaccine schedule to our patients and families. Evidence from immunization and infectious disease experts from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), American College of Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); and numerous peer-reviewed, published studies suggests that deviation from the standard vaccine schedule creates and increased RISK of illness and death to children. Our practice has been providing pediatric care since 1977, prior to the introduction of many of the current vaccines in use, so our doctors have experienced first hand how serious and fatal some of these illnesses can be.
HOWEVER, we understand and appreciate how parents and families can become conflicted, frightened, and hesitant about vaccines, because of the vast amount of misinformation easily available on the internet and in non-peer-reviewed sources. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your concerns regarding vaccines and provide accurate information. Ethically and morally our goal is to provide comprehensive care for all children, SO we do NOT want to turn families away from our office because of vaccine hesitancy or refusal if we can work out a plan to address this issue. Considering this we are allowing a 6 month window of time for families to research and reevaluate vaccines; and to reflect on their feelings. At 6 months of age or the end of the window period, we will require the start of the meningitis, pertussis, tetanus, and polio vaccines with progression in a timely manner on an alternative schedule with the goal of having the child up to date by 2 years of age. We will require the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and chickenpox vaccines by 15-18 months of age as long as no outbreak in our community occurs earlier. For those families who choose to have NO immunization by 1 year of age (or 1 year after entering our practice), we would respectfully recommend you choose another healthcare provider who might be a better fit for your family. We want you to understand that there are no hard feelings in this recommendation, but our belief is that if you do not trust us to vaccinate your child, then how can you trust us as doctors for other healthcare needs that may arise. Thank you for understanding our policy in an effort to try to care for as many children as possible.
Centers for Disease Control
