Vaccination Questions

I have also collected a set of links about vaccination on my links page, here.

Do you believe in vaccines?

YES! I know they exist, because there are a lot in my office fridge and freezer!

But, seriously: I participate in the Massachusetts Immunization Program, and I receive the recommended routine childhood vaccines from the state.

My nurses and I offer vaccines according to the most current guidelines of the Massachusetts Immunization Program, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

What vaccines do you give and when?

Using current guidelines, I advise parents which vaccines are recommended, according to the baby’s or child’s age.

Aside from hepatitis B, which is now routinely administered in the hospital before newborn discharge, most vaccines start at age 2 months.

For more information on vaccination scheduling, see the Childhood Vaccination Schedule from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What if we want to have our child immunized on a different schedule, or not at all?

I know that some parents are very concerned that vaccines may be harmful in one way or another, and vaccination is at the very least anxiety-provoking if not frankly terrifying for them. I am sensitive to people's belief that a given vaccine may have done real harm to someone they know, even a previous child in the family.

My basic belief is that vaccines are protective and not harmful.

I am interested in learning people’s specific concerns so that I can address them, as able.

I am willing to accommodate parent’s concerns about too many vaccines at one visit, for example.

But I am uncomfortable with a parent’s choice not to vaccinate an infant or child at all. I would be constantly concerned about the health of a child who remained unvaccinated. Every fever or bad cough would make me shudder, and pose investigation and treatment questions that would be unpleasant for all of us.

Therefore, in general, if a family is completely opposed to vaccination of their infant, I suggest they consider a practice other than mine.

Do the vaccines you give contain thimerosal?

Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative previously used more widely. This substance is of concern to some parents because of reports that it may pose risks to the infant brain.

Since the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria with whooping cough [pertussis]) replaced the Td (tetanus, diphtheria) for ages 11 years and up in 2005, none of the vaccines we routinely administer use thimerosal as a preservative.

Other vaccines may contain what are considered trace amounts, less than the amount needed to act as a preservative.

For our practice patients ages 6 months and up, we have ordered thimerosal-free flu vaccine for the 2006-2007 flu season. (We start vaccinating practice patients against the flu in October.)

We will prioritize this vaccine for infants and preschoolers if we don’t have enough for everyone who wants it. We will also have the standard, state-supplied, thimerosal-containing vaccine for children aged 5 years and up.