Vaccines

Influenza | Meningococcal Vaccine | HPV Vaccine | Varicella | Tdap | Answers to Common Questions | Vaccine Information Resources

Vaccines have greatly reduced the threat of many vaccine preventable diseases in childhood. There are new vaccines and new recommendations that we would like to make you aware of.

Only some vaccines are listed below.

Please visit this website for a complete listing.
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/immunizations.cfm

Influenza
Annual influenza immunization is recommended in all children 6 through 59 months of age, for household contacts and out of home caregivers of children 0 to 59 months of age.

Older children need the influenza vaccine only if they have Asthma, Diabetes, JRA or any other chronic illness that put them in a high
risk group.

Please call our office for an appointment in early October.

Meningococcal Vaccine
College freshman and adolescents entering high school are moving
to the head of the line to receive Menactra.

Please call our office to find out if the vaccine is available.

HPV Vaccine
This recently approved vaccine prevents cervical cancer and cervical, vulvar and vaginal pre-cancers as well as genital warts caused by human papillomavirus.

HPV types 16 and 18, are associated with about 70% of cervical cancer, as well as type 6 and 11, both associated with genital warts.

The vaccine should be given to all females aged 9 to 26, in a three dose series.

We would like to vaccinate all our adolescent females before they become sexually active.

Please call our office for an appointment.

Varicella
A second dose of varicella vaccine has been recently approved for children four to six years old to further improve protection against
the disease. The first dose of varicella vaccine is recommended at
12 to 15 months old.

It is also recommended that children, adolescents and adults who previously received one dose should receive a second dose.

Please call our office for an appointment.

Tdap
Pertussis is a common cause of a protracted cough illness in adults.

Pertussis persists and appears to be increasing in incidence, particularly among older children, adolescents, and adults.

Disease in adolescents and adults can be severe, but is often mild
and therefore unrecognized.

Adolescents and adults are often the source of infection for infants and young children. Infants are at high risk for morbidity and mortality from pertussis infection.

A routine booster dose of an acellular pertussis vaccine is indicated
in adolescents and adults.

Please call our office for an appointment.

Answers to Common Questions

Q: Does MMR vaccine cause Autism?

A: No. This theory has been thoroughly investigated, and there are
now many studies published in respected medical journals that
failed to find any evidence of an association between the MMR
vaccine and autism spectrum disorder.

Q: Does the mercury containing preservative thimerosal, sometimes
used in vaccines, cause autism?

A: No. In 1999, the Public Health Service and the American Academy
of Pediatrics recommended reduction or removal of thimerosal that
contained ethyl mercury from vaccines used in infants.

Several studies have found no association between thimerosal
containing vaccines and autism. Vaccines like the MMR, chickenpox,
prevnar and polio never used thimerosal as preservatives.

Vaccines do not cause autism.

Vaccine Information Resources

National Immunization Program - http://www.cdc.gov/nip
Immunization Action Coalition - http://www.immunize.org