Vaccinations
At GetzWell, we support childhood vaccination so that your child is protected from harmful and potentially fatal diseases. While vaccines are necessary for the health of our patients and communities, we believe parents should have the option to adopt a customized vaccination schedule, different from the one recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Routine Vaccination Schedules
The routine vaccination schedule is determined by the CDC and AAP and it provides guidelines for vaccinations including:
- When to immunize children against certain diseases
- How often to vaccinate
- The lowest possible vaccine dose for effective disease prevention
Preventing Pain and Discomfort During Vaccinations
Our holistic approach means that we take extra steps to ensure your child’s health and safety before, during, and after vaccination. We will advise you on how to build your child’s immune system so that the vaccines are most effective and guide you in non-pharmaceutical pain and fever control after shots should your child need it. We never recommend Tylenol premedication, as this is unnecessary and may blunt the immune system’s ability to respond properly to the vaccines.
We want to make your child’s experience as positive as possible so during your child’s immunization visit, we will:
Encourage infant breastfeeding which blunts their pain perception
Reduce pain for older children with the help of a "shot blocker" and "Buzzy the Bee"
Suggest other soothing practices for babies who don't breast feed
Holistic Medicine and Routine Vaccinations
We acknowledge that immunizations are one of the first major health related decisions that parents make for their children and should be carefully considered.
While the CDC and AAP recommend a one size fits all approach, at GetzWell we are able to customize a schedule that is right for your child by offering single antigen vaccines, which aren’t routinely available from most other pediatricians. We want to help you come to the best decision possible and we respect families’ choices regarding their child’s healthcare and immunizations. Our board certified pediatricians can help to formulate an individualized vaccination approach based on:
- Your family’s and child’s unique risk profile
- Travel plans and vaccinations necessary to keep children safe and enter foreign countries
- Immunizations for school entry
- Your family’s and child’s unique risk profile
- Travel plans and vaccinations necessary to enter foreign countries
- School-required immunizations
We respect your choices as a parent and can provide you with an in depth consultation upon request. Additionally, for an extra fee, GetzWell pediatricians will provide vaccine only consultations to non-members.
**GetzWell Pediatrics does not issue medical exemptions. https://www.shotsforschool.org/laws/exemptions/