Pediatric Associates of Dallas Vaccine Policy
Vaccines are safe and effective to prevent serious illnesses and saving lives. 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 Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
Vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as healthcare providers, and you can perform as parents/caregivers. The recommended vaccines and the vaccine schedule are the results of years and years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.
The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precise 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 you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, 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 about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.
When you don’t vaccinate, you take a significant risk to your child’s health and the health of others around them. By not vaccinating, you also take advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, thereby decreasing the likelihood that your child will contract a vaccine-preventable disease. Pediatric Associates of Dallas is a large pediatric practice that serves tens of thousands of children in our area. We have to make decisions to protect all of our patients, especially our most vulnerable children.
Please be advised that delaying or breaking up the vaccines to give one or two at a time over two or more visits goes against expert recommendations and can put your child at risk for serious illness (or even death) and goes against our medical advice as providers at Pediatric Associates of Dallas.
Please realize that you will also be required to sign a “Refusal to Vaccinate” acknowledgment in the event of lengthy delays. Because we are committed to protecting the health of your children through vaccination, we require all of our patients to be vaccinated and caught up by age 3 years. If you should absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child despite all of the information provided to you, we may ask you to find another healthcare provider who shares your views.
Vaccinating your child on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do to protect your child and all children and young adults. Thank you for taking the time to read this policy. Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with any one of us.
Signed- the physicians and nurse practitioners of Pediatric Associates of Dallas
