Recommended Immunization Schedules from Birth to 18 Years

Milestones Pediatric And Adolescent Care does not accept patients whose parents or caregivers choose not to vaccinate or choose to delay recommended vaccines by more than 4 months. Parents or caregivers of established patients who choose not to vaccinate or delay vaccines by more than 4 months will be given a 1 month grace period to find another pediatrics practice. We will not be able to provide families with names of practices accepting unvaccinated or vaccine delayed patients. Milestones Pediatric and Adolescent Care strongly recommends vaccination at the recommended times. Please recognize that an unvaccinated or vaccine-delayed child is at higher risk of life-threatening illness, disability, and death than vaccinated children.  Furthermore, an unvaccinated or vaccine-delayed child puts other children at risk, especially those who are too young for vaccination or those who cannot receive vaccinations for various reasons. 

• 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 should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
  

The children of our doctors and nurse practitioner have been fully vaccinated. All of our providers believe that vaccinating your children may be the single most important health-promoting and life-saving intervention that you can perform as parents. Public health policy exists to promote the well being of all the children in our community. 

Our policy states:

1. All children must receive all vaccines recommended by the AAP that are mandated for school entry by the State of Virginia.
2. All children must begin receiving their immunizations preferably at age 2 months but no later than 6 months and be up-to-date on all required vaccines (including MMR and Varicella) by the age of 2 years.
3. We fervently recommend utilizing the immunization schedule above as determined by the AAP and CDC.
4. If a parent or caregiver elects to limit their child to 2 vaccines at a time, they must come into the office at 2-4 week intervals to stay within the recommended “window” for the vaccines.
5. If a parent or caregiver elects to limit their child to 1 vaccine at a time, they must come into the office at weekly intervals to stay within the recommended “window” for the vaccines.
6. All parents who don’t follow the AAP vaccine guidelines must sign a waiver that they are utilizing an alternate vaccine schedule. This schedule must be approved by a physician or nurse practitioner.
7. Exceptions for the AAP window include: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Influenza, and Gardasil.
8. The Hepatitis B series must be completed by the time of school entry.
9. The Hepatitis A series, although strongly recommended by our providers, may be deferred until such time that Virginia requires it for school entry.
10. The Influenza vaccine is strongly recommended yearly for all children over the age of 6 months, however it is not mandatory at this time.
11. The Gardasil (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine series is approved and strongly recommended for older children and teens, ideally between the ages of 11-13, but it is not mandatory at this time.
12. Parents or caregivers of established patients who don’t agree with Milestones Pediatric and Adolescent Care’s vaccine policy will be given a 1 month grace period to find another Pediatrics practice. We do not keep a list of such providers, and will not be able to provide families with names of practices who accept families choosing not to vaccinate or choosing to significantly delay vaccination of their children. Please recognize that an unvaccinated or vaccine-delayed child is at higher risk of life-threatening illness, disability, and death than vaccinated children.  Furthermore, an unvaccinated or vaccine-delayed child puts other children at risk, especially those who are too young for vaccination or those who cannot receive vaccinations for various reasons.
13. CDC guidelines provide a window for when a specific vaccine should be given.  This allows sufficient flexibility in getting your child properly vaccinated.  We prefer to remain your child’s Pediatrician and will not dismiss any family who is actively working to properly vaccinate their children.  Our staff of doctors and nurses is here to help.  A link to our recommended vaccine schedule can be found above. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns