Immunizations

Here at Tots 'n' Teens Pediatrics we STRONGLY RECOMMEND vaccinating your child according to the immunization schedule adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Learn more.

WHY DO BABIES NEED SO MANY SHOTS?

In their first year, babies get vaccinated against 14 diseases. That is a lot, but it is a good thing! The reason we immunize so early is because babies are much more likely to have severe complications (and even die) from vaccine preventable diseases than older children. The sooner we vaccinate your baby, the sooner you can feel comfortable taking him or her out and about.

It is important to remember that while we often do not see diseases like rubella, measles and polio in our daily lives, those diseases are just a plane ride away. More common vaccine preventable diseases like whooping cough and influenza are just a grocery store visit away. It's all about protecting your infant from whomever and whatever they may encounter as early as possible.

SHOULD I SPREAD OUT THE VACCINES THAT MY CHILD NEEDS?

We strongly recommend vaccinating your child according to the CDC schedule. Choosing to delay one or more vaccines will leave your child at risk for disease longer than necessary during a critical time such as when they begin interacting with many family members, when they are starting day care and when they go to kindergarten. Learn more http://immunizeforgood.com/fac...

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO LEARN MORE!

There is a LOT of information on the internet about childhood vaccines. To make it easy for you to know you are accessing REPUTABLE EVIDENCE-BASED online resources, here are some of the best websites on the topic. These are the websites that WE TRUST to provide reliable up-to-date information regarding the immunizations that your child needs.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
https://www.healthychildren.or...

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/p...

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
https://www.chop.edu/centers-p...

Every Child by Two (ECBT)
www.vaccinateyourbaby.com

The History of Vaccines
https://www.historyofvaccines....

Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
http://www.vaccineinformation....

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 vaccines.

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 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 vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that parents can performs as caregivers. The recommended vaccines and the vaccine schedule are the result of years and years of scientific study and data collection from millions of children by thousands of our best and brightest scientists and physicians.

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 or not 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 lead to tragic results.

Administration of simultaneous immunizations has been extensively studied and determined to be safe and efficacious. There is no negative effect on the normal childhood immune system. The average child is exposed to millions of germs each day. The number of antigens found in immunization pale in comparison to the load the immune system faces daily. There is no medical benefit to splitting shots. We have found that splitting vaccines lead to medical errors and increased patient risk and potentially endangers the child.

We recognize that the choice to vaccinate your child may be a very emotional one for some patients. We will do everything we can to convince you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do. Because of our strong belief in vaccines and the danger that unvaccinated children pose to themselves and their community, we at Tot N teens have a common belief that all children should be immunized with the vaccines recommended by the AAP. We encourage all parents to visit the vaccine education center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's website( http://www.vaccine.chop.edu ) or the CDC ( http://www.cdc.gov ) to better educate themselves on vaccines.

For those parents and caregivers that have a different belief in vaccines and that choose not to vaccinate their children we feel that is the best for those families to find another primary care doctor that will meet their specific needs and wants. If you have decided not to vaccinate your children, you will need to sign a waiver stating that you have a refused the vaccines and will have 30 days to find a new primary care provider. Within the 30-day transition period to a new physician, we will continue to serve your child's needs; however, after the 30 days have passed, we will no longer be required to see your children.

Need to include the visit and immunization schedule found under Well Child Visit tab.

AAP Guidelines as Adopted by Tots'N'Teens Pediatrics

Age Immunizations Screening
Hospital/Nursery Hepatitis B,#1 Metabolic Screen
3-7 Days None Bilirubin Level If Jaundiced
2 Weeks None Metabolic Screen #2
1 month Hepatitis B, #2 Metabolic Screen
2 Months Pentacel(DPT-Polio-HIB) Prevnar Rotavirus None
4 Months Pentacel(DPT-Polio-HIB) Prevnar Rotavirus None
6 Months Pentacel(DPT-Polio-HIB) Prevnar Rotavirus CBC
9 Months Hepatitis B, #3 Developmental Screen
12 Months MMR Varicella Hepatitis A, #1 CBC, Lead Level
15 Months Prevnar None
18 Months Pentacel(DPT-Polio-HIB) Developmental Screen
2Years Hepatitis A, #2 CBC, Lead Level, Developmental Screen
3 Years None VisionScreen
4 Years DTap-Polio MMRV VisionScreen
5 Years Catch if not given earlier
6-11 Years Yearly check-up but no vaccines VisionScreen if not seeing eye doctor
11-12 Years Must have DTap prior to 6th grade, Menactra #1, HPV 3 Dose series CBC, Lipil Profile
12-15 Years Yearly Physical CBC for menstruating females
16 Years Menactra #2, Bexsero 2 dose series
17-18 Years DTap prior to graduating from our practice

FLU SHOTS

THE IMPORTANCE OF FLU SHOTS

The single best way to protect your children from the flu is to get them vaccinated each year. The CDC(Centers for Disease Control) and Tots'N'Teens Pediatrics recommend that everyone 6 months of age and older get a seasonal flu vaccine. A new flu vaccine is created each year to protect against the strains of flu that are predicted to be most prevalent that year. The vaccines usually arrive in our office in September. Although the flu vaccine may not be 100% effective in preventing the flu, vaccinated patients who do get the flu tend to have milder symptoms and shorter duration of illness than those who did not receive a flu vaccine that year.

Children at greatest risk of serious flu-related complications include:

Children younger than 6 months old. These children are too young to be vaccinated. The best way to protect them is to make sure those around them are vaccinated.

Children aged 6 months up to their 5th birthday American Indian or Alaskan Native children Children aged 6 months through 18 years with chronic health problems including asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, blood disorders, diabetes, kidney or liver disorders and weakened immune systems.

Children should be vaccinated every flu season for the best protection against the flu. Since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against influenza virus infection, it is best that children get vaccinated so they are protected before influenza begins spreading.

Children under 9 years who are receiving their first flu vaccine need a second dose one month after the first.

Please contact our office today with any questions and to schedule your child's vaccination starting in September.

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In Case of Emergency

In a true medical emergency, please call 911. During office hours, please call our main number 205-856-4440. After office hours, please call our answering service at 205-930-4322. One of our providers is always on call to care for your child.


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