VACCINE POLICY

The Professional Association for Pediatrics

Professional Association for Pediatrics Vaccine Policy Statement

As pediatric health care providers our highest priority is to protect the health and well-being of your children and our community. We believe that routine childhood immunizations are crucial in meeting this goal. Vaccines are one of the most helpful interventions in the history of modern medicine.

We firmly believe in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives. If we did not, we would not recommend them for our own children or yours.
We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all the recommended vaccines according to the schedule established by the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC ACIP) 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 utilize as healthcare providers and that you should choose as parents. The recommended vaccines and their administration schedule are the results of years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by thousands of the world’s brightest scientists and physicians.
We recognize that there has been controversy surrounding vaccination. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chicken pox; and have not known a friend or family whose child died of one of these diseases or their complications. Such success can make us complacent or even question the need for vaccinating our children, but such an attitude may lead to tragic results.
We therefore emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child, following the evidence-based schedule. We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for you. We will do everything we can to show you that vaccinating is the right thing to do. However, should you have doubts or questions, please discuss these with your health care provider.
Please, recognize that by choosing not to vaccinate and/or vaccinate on schedule, you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life threatening illness, disability, or even death.