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 they should be given. Because of vaccines, 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. 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. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from thirty-one states reported to the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.
Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at JDC Pediatrics.
As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Finally, should you refuse any of the required vaccines for your child despite all of our efforts, we will ask you to leave this practice to find another health care provider who shares your views. We do not keep a list of such providers, nor would we recommend any such physician. Please recognize that by not vaccinating, you are deciding to put your child, other children, and adults at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, and even death.
