Where We Stand
Unless medically contraindicated, we firmly advocate vaccinating all children according to the schedule published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
We strongly believe in the importance and safety of immunizations. Vaccinating our children may be the single most important health-promoting and life-saving intervention that we can perform as parents. Public health policy exists to promote the well-being of all children. It not only protects them from the ravages of potentially life-threatening diseases, but it protects others as well, including the very young, the very old, or those who have a compromised immune system, such as in cancer and immune deficiencies.
Vaccines are held to the highest standard of safety. The United States currently has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. The Law requires years of testing before a vaccine can be licensed. Once in use, vaccines are continually monitored for safety and effectiveness. However, like any medication, vaccines can cause side effects. We recognize that there is much anti-vaccine rhetoric in the press today that has heightened parents’ concerns regarding immunizations. However, numerous worldwide scientific studies have repeatedly confirmed the safety of vaccines. Around the country, the actions of relatively few parents opposed to vaccination have put many of the most vulnerable at risk. In the face of recent outbreaks, we no longer have the option of supporting non-compliant parents. Many of our vaccine-compliant families have voiced concerns about possible exposure in our healthcare facilities. It is our duty to provide the safest environment possible to receive health care.
Vaccine Side Effects
Each person is unique and may react differently to vaccination. Occasionally, people who receive a vaccine do not respond to it and may still get the illness the vaccine was meant to protect them against, but usually a milder form. In most cases, vaccines are effective and cause no side effects or only mild reactions such as fever or soreness at the injection site. Very rarely, they may experience more serious side effects, like allergic reactions. Be sure to tell us if your child has any chronic or recent health condition that may prevent him from being vaccinated, if there was any prior reaction to vaccines such as an allergy, seizures, fainting, excessive crying, or Guillian-Barre Syndrome, or if the child has any known allergies to medications or food. Severe reactions to vaccines occur so rarely that the risk is difficult to calculate.
VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)
Clinically significant adverse events that follow immunization should be reported to VAERS. Click here for online reporting to the CDC or report by telephone at: 800-822-7967.
If a child has a reaction to the vaccine, you may call us or go straight to the Emergency Room if the reaction is severe. You may ask the doctor, nurse, or health department to file a VAERS form, or you may contact VAERS yourself.
Florida School Entry Required Vaccines
We share our patients’ vaccine records with Florida Shots, the statewide database. In order to see if your child has all of the vaccines needed for school or daycare entrance, please check out the Florida Department of Health website [click here].
Ellenton Pediatrics Immunizations Schedule
(The combination vaccines we use to reduce the number of shots the child may need)
| AGE | VACCINE |
| 2 Months | Hepatitis B (HepB) Rotavirus (RV) Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib) Pneumococcal (PCV) Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV) |
| 4 Months | Hepatitis B (HepB) Rotavirus (RV) Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) Pneumococcal (PCV) Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV) |
| 6 Months | Hepatitis B (HepB) Rotavirus (RV) Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV) Influenza |
| 9 Months | Pneumococcal (PCV) |
| 12 Months | Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Varicella |
| 15 Months | Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) Pneumococcal (PCV) Hepatitis A |
| 18 Months | Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) |
| 2 Years | Hepatitis A |
| 4-5 Years | Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV) Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Varicella |
| 11 Years or Older | Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Booster (Tdap) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Meningococcus (MCV4) |
| 16 Years | Meningococcus (MCV4), Meningococcus B (Men B) |