Vaccines & Immunizations
If your child needs an immunization, please call the office to set up an appointment.
After careful thought and discussion, we have decided to require our patients to vaccinate according to the AAP policy. We feel this is in the best interest of all of our patients, their families and our community.
Our office strongly believes in and follows the immunizations guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). One very important step in ensuring the health of any child is to make sure he or she receives immunizations at the correct time. This schedule will satisfy all school entry requirements. We are committed to quality health care and believe strongly in the safety, effectiveness and importance of vaccines. All of the diseases that children are currently immunized against have experienced very significant declines in infection rates. Vaccines have been so successful that many of these illnesses are virtually non-existent in the United States. However as we have seen with a recent Measles outbreak, a resurgence of these diseases is possible. The continuation of administering these vaccines is essential to continue the eradication of these preventable diseases.
People who choose not to vaccinate their children also put others at risk if their child isn’t vaccinated and becomes ill. Special groups of people cannot be vaccinated, including infants, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems (e.g. those with leukemia or other cancers). These people rely on the general public being vaccinated so their risk of exposure is reduced.
It is our policy to discourage the spreading out of or splitting up of vaccines, unless it is medically necessary to do so. For all shots that are being split up by parental choice, there will be a convenience charge of $50 over and above any copayment required by your insurance, since catch-up administration of vaccines done for non-medical reasons involves additional staff time and is disruptive to the flow of our office. This fee is not covered by insurance and is due at the time of service.
All immunizations administered at our practice as of 3/1/06 are thimerosal-free.
Travel Vaccines
Before you travel internationally, ensure that you are up to date on all your routine vaccines, as well as possible travel vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control Travel website is an excellent resource to see what, if any, vaccines or medications are recommended for travel. If you have any questions after visiting the CDC’s travel website, you can schedule a travel consult visit with one of our Providers.
Some of the vaccines required for travel are not stocked in our office (see below), but can be administered at a travel clinic. Below is a list of a few of the local clinics:
SFDPH Immunization Clinic (415)554-2625 San Francisco
Passport Health (415)735-9816 San Francisco
Passport Health (415)735-9816 San Rafael
Marin HHS (415)473-4400 San Rafael
Recommended Immunization Schedules
Current recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule Persons Aged 0-6 Years
Current recommended Adolescent Immunization Schedule Persons Aged 7-18 Years
Catch-up Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 4 Months – 18 Years
The vaccines our office administers are below. (Click on the vaccine below to view the Vaccine Information Sheets)
You can access your immunization record from our practice if you are registered for our Patient Portal. Otherwise, if you would like to request a copy of a patient’s immunization record, please fill out and submit the following form.
For more information about vaccines please visit:
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
