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River Valley Pediatrics |
531 Central Park Avenue, Suite 102
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Immunizations Immunizations are the single most important and successful medical advancement of the modern age. It is a testament to the effectiveness of these vaccines that some deadly diseases are incredibly rare or even eradicated. Many parents and even practicing physicians have never seen a true case of polio or measles. Vaccines save lives and protect us from diseases. Despite these amazing advances, recent media coverage has questioned the safety and efficacy of our commonly used vaccines. These reports have no basis in scientific fact; however, it is perfectly natural for parents to have concerns and questions. On February 12, 2009, the United States Court of Federal Claims ruled against compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund for children with autism, ruling that scientific evidence "is overwhelmingly contrary" to the theory that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal are linked to autism. We welcome the opportunity to discuss our vaccines. We feel very strongly that vaccines are safe and are necessary to protect our children, and can provide information to help parents arrive at a balanced, informed decision. Our immunization schedule follows the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is an ever-increasing array of combination vaccines that we try to incorporate to decrease the number of injections. In general, the following represents our current schedule of immunizations. Please keep in mind that we use combination vaccines as often as we can, so the total number of shots is less than what appears below. 2 months - DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis), Hib (Haemophilus influenza B), HepB (Hepatitis B), Prevnar (Pneumococcal), and IPV (Polio)
4 months - same as for 2 months 6 months - DTaP 9 months - Prevnar, Hib 12 months - 15 months MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Varicella 15 months - 18 months DTaP, Prevnar 2 years - Hepatitis A 2 ½ years - Hepatitis A 4 years - MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Varivax (Varicella) 5 years - DTaP, IPV 10 - 11 years - TdaP (Adolescent tetanus) 11 -12 years - Menactra (Meningococcal), Gardasil (Human Papilloma Virus - girls only, series of 3 shots)
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