Vaccines

We believe that immunizations are an important tool in protecting children and communities from potentially deadly diseases.  We also believe that the safety and life-saving nature of vaccines well outweighs any associated risks.  Alternative vaccine schedules (i.e. Dr. Sears) have not been researched and needlessly prolong the amount of time a child is susceptible to deadly diseases.  Giving a child multiple immunizations at one visit is not overwhelming to a child’s immune system.  We know that a child’s stress and pain response to receiving two or three injections at one time is the same as when they receive one injection.  Spacing out immunizations increases the number of times the child has to receive injections and puts them through more stressful experiences than are needed.  In short, the pediatricians of A Bright Future Pediatrics believe that it is needlessly cruel to make a child have double or triple the number of “shot visits” for no medical reason.  For these reasons, we do not follow alternative vaccine schedules unless medically indicated.  If you have questions about specific vaccines or vaccine safety, feel free to ask!

At A Bright Future Pediatrics, we have many newborns as well as several immunocompromised/ immunodeficient patients.  We feel a moral obligation to protect our weakest and most vulnerable patients to the fullest extent possible by providing them herd immunity with a cocoon of other vaccinated patients.  We follow the standard of care as recognized by professional associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the Centers for Disease Control.  All of our physicians and staff have vaccinated their children according the the standard schedule we use for our patients.

Recommended Immunization Schedule

What We Believe

We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.

We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities. We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

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. The recommended vaccines given and their schedules are the results of years and years of scientific study and data gathered on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

These things being said, we recognize that there has always been and will likely always be controversy surrounding vaccination. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin, persuaded by his brother, was opposed to the smallpox vaccine until scientific data convinced him otherwise. Tragically, he delayed inoculating his favorite son, Franky, who contracted smallpox and died at the age of 4, leaving Ben with a lifetime of guilt and remorse. Quoting Mr. Franklin’s autobiography:

“In 1736, I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox…I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it, my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.”

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of us 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. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating, but such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years and more recently, outbreaks in the United States.

Furthermore, by not vaccinating your child, you are taking advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that your child will contract one of these diseases.

Recommended Immunization Schedules

From the American Academy of Pediatrics website:

The following schedules indicate the recommended ages for routine administration of currently licensed vaccines, as of January 1, 2018, for children. Any dose not administered at the recommended age should be administered at a subsequent visit, when indicated and feasible.

AAP and CDC Recommended Immunization Schedules for Children 0 to 18 Years Old (downloadable pdf)