VACCINE POLICY

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 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 is the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as healthcare providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers. The recommended vaccines and their 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. These things being said, we recognize that there has always been controversy surrounding vaccination.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. Because vaccines are so good at preventing illness, many people have never seen a case of polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chicken pox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. When children aren’t vaccinated, those terrible diseases come back.

After publication of an unfounded accusation (later retracted) that MMR vaccine caused autism in 1998, many people in Europe chose not to vaccinate their children. As a result of underimmunization, there were large outbreaks of measles, with several deaths from complications of the disease. In 2010 there were more than 2,000 cases of whooping cough in California, with nine deaths in children less than six months of age. Again, many of those who contracted the illness had made a conscious decision not to vaccinate.

We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. We will do everything we can to assure you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do. However, should you have doubts, please discuss these with your healthcare provider in advance of your visit.

Please be aware that delaying or spreading out vaccines—administering them one or two at a time over multiple visits—does not align with current medical guidelines and is not recommended by health experts. This approach may increase your child’s risk of serious illness or even death. It also goes against the medical advice of our providers at Rainbow Pediatrics. Additionally, choosing this option may result in extra office visits, which could lead to additional co-pays or out-of-pocket costs.

Finally, if you should absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child despite all our efforts, or if you delay immunizations by more than 6 months, we will ask you to find another healthcare provider who shares your views. We do not keep a list of such providers. Please recognize that by not vaccinating you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, and even death. As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating your child on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do to protect 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 your provider.