At Greenville Pediatric Services, we are committed to providing the best possible medical care to our patients.
Immunizations are one of the cornerstone elements of pediatric preventative medicine.
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 and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics and “ACIP” Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice.
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 thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does 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 healthcare providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers. The recommended vaccines and the vaccine schedule are the results of years and years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians. When you do not vaccinate, you take a significant risk with your child’s health and the health of others around them.
Because we are committed to protecting the health of your children through vaccination, we will require all of our patients to be vaccinated according to the primary vaccination series:
(hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, haemophilus influenzae type B, inactivated poliovirus, rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis A and meningococcal vaccines)
We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. We will do everything we can to convince you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do in light of the immense amount of medical data that demonstrates the safety and efficacy of vaccines in preventing infectious disease. However, should you have doubts, please discuss these with your healthcare provider and consider reviewing the resources listed below.
In some cases, we may alter the schedule to accommodate parental concerns or reservations. Please be advised, however, that delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over two or more visits goes against expert recommendations, and can put your child at risk for serious illness (or even death) and goes against our medical advice as providers at Greenville Pediatric Services. These additional visits may require additional co-pays on your part. Also, you will be required to sign a “Refusal to Vaccinate” acknowledgement when refusing a vaccine at the time that it is due without a true medical contraindication.
In the event that the above outlined vaccine policy is not followed, we will ask you to find another healthcare provider.
We encourage you to utilize the listed resources below for further information on immunizations.
As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating your child on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do to protect all children and young adults.
Thank you for taking the time to read this policy. Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with any one of us while we provide care to your child in the office.
The Healthcare Providers of Greenville Pediatric Services
Vaccine Information Resources:
CDC's Recommended Immunization Schedule for Patients Ages 0-18Additional Information about Immunizations from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
www.healthychildren.org