All of the healthcare providers here at Hackensack Pediatrics strongly believe in the safety of vaccines, and their effectiveness in preventing serious diseases, illnesses, and death.
Based on decades of well-vetted scientific and medical research, we affirm in our belief that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines and schedule. We also strongly believe that years of evidence and research have confirmed vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
Vaccinating children and adults has saved millions of lives over many decades here in the United States and all around the world. We understand that in recent years there has been controversy about whether vaccinations could be the cause of autism and other developmental disorders. Much has been written about it online and on social media. It is hard to decipher what the true facts are, facts established after years of medical research and scientific evidence, versus anecdotal misinformation aimed to confuse and make individuals uncomfortable with vaccines. Especially when you, as parents, are genuinely looking to do what is best for your child. We understand the concern and would like to address some of the medical facts and correct some of the misinformation to help you make the decision to feel more comfortable with immunizing your children. We also care very much about what is best for your child and protecting your children from preventable, life-threatening diseases.
1. Many have speculated whether thimerosal or mercury (previously used as a preservative in vaccines) could be a contributing factor to autism. In 2001 the FDA demanded that thimerosal and mercury be removed from all vaccines. Despite this, even after decades of thimerosal/mercury-free immunizations, unfortunately the incidence of autism in America did not drop. If it were related, we would have expected a decrease in the incidence of autism. All of the vaccines in our office are free of thimerosal and mercury.
2. The controversy with vaccines started in 1998 when an article by Dr. Wakefield and 12 co-authors claimed that measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine may have contributed to the development of autism in 9 out of 12 children studied. Note, this is a very small study of only 12 children. In 2004 it was revealed that the study was biased because it was funded by trial lawyers suing the vaccine industry and Dr. Wakefield was the only one aware of this bias. It was also revealed that he was covertly paid by these lawyers to manipulate the study findings. Once exposed, the 12 other co-authors retracted their signatures admitting that it was biased and the findings were unfounded. However, the damage was done causing some Americans and Europeans to stop vaccinating. Unfortunately, in the past few decades this resulted in numerous communicable disease outbreaks as well as pediatric and adult deaths that could have been prevented.
3. The best and most convincing argument against vaccines causing autism came out of Denmark where they administer the same vaccine schedule as the United States. A study was done in which 500,000 children born between 1991 and 1998 were retrospectively studied. In this very large study, 250,000 of the children were fully vaccinated, and 250,000 were never vaccinated at all. When looking at the incidence of autism in the two groups years later, it was found that the number of children with autism was the same in both groups. There was no increase in the incidence of autism in the vaccinated children. This is a powerful study with a very large number of individuals being evaluated. It should be appreciated how statistically significant these findings are.
4. Many parents ask us if there is a benefit to splitting up the vaccines. No studies have proven that separating the immunizations decreases any risks of developing autism or developmental disabilities. And most babies do not experience any side effects at all with vaccines. We do strongly encourage giving the vaccines in accordance to the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule because it gives the child a “break” of about 2-3 months in between shots so that they do not experience more visits with potential side effects (fever, sore legs, etc…). However, if you would prefer to split up the vaccines, we are moderately flexible and would be willing to work out a schedule to keep the child on-track as long as the child returns for the deferred vaccines within 1-2 weeks. Most parents who prefer this schedule will give 2 immunizations, and then return 1-2 weeks later for another 1 or 2 (depending on the schedule). Lengthy delays or completely skipping vaccines is against our office policy.
It is crucial to understand how serious these diseases are that are being prevented by vaccinations. Many of them can cause death, brain death, amputations, deafness, blindness, infertility, and other serious sequelae. These diseases are still out there devastating children all over the world, and in the U.S. The younger the child the more vulnerable they are for complications of these diseases. We are very lucky and privileged as Americans to have access to these life-saving vaccines. We must remember that we do not live in a “bubble” as these diseases do emerge with some frequency throughout our nation. When it does, it creates panic and fear once discussed in the media (i.e. Swine Flu in 2009 which caused 575,000 deaths, Measles in 2025 which has already resulted in multiple pediatric U.S. deaths for the first time in over 30 years). Many times, it is too late to give the vaccine to a child who is unimmunized once there is exposure or an outbreak.
GUIDELINES:
We are a practice that will always strive to care for and protect your children as if they were our own children. For that reason, we believe that by allowing your children to remain unvaccinated, we are not protecting them the way we feel ethically obligated to do so. We are fully committed to protecting the health of your children by vaccinating them. We are also obligated to protect the other children in our waiting rooms who are unable to be vaccinated (newborns, children with cancer, immunocompromised patients, etc…) whose families trust that we are reducing the chances of their child being exposed to a preventable, life-threatening disease by vaccinating the patients in our practice. Therefore, all of our patients are required to be vaccinated as follows:
-Babies must receive the recommended age-appropriate vaccines by 3 months of age. They also must continue to receive the subsequent primary series boosters at the recommended intervals through age 18 months.
-If splitting vaccines is requested, the primary series cannot be more than 2 weeks apart.
-Toddler vaccines must be completed by age 2 years including MMR and Varicella.
-Children must receive the 4 year vaccine boosters by the time they are 5 years old, or the start of kindergarten (whichever comes first).
-Children must receive the 11-12 year recommended vaccinations by the time they are 12 years old, or the start of 6th grade (whichever comes first).
-Teenagers must complete the 16 year recommended vaccinations by the time they are 17 years old.
We truly hope to have the privilege of caring for your children and family for many years to come. We encourage discussion to help you as parents feel more comfortable with vaccines, and to help you understand the importance of protecting your children with vaccinations. However, if despite our best efforts you still do not feel comfortable committing to the above recommendations and guidelines, we kindly ask that you find a pediatric office who shares your views.

Wishing you and your children a lifetime of excellent health.
Hackensack Pediatrics