At Advocare Florham Pediatrics we are dedicated to the current and future health of our patients. Our approach is evidence based and informed care. Accordingly, we promote the basic pillars of health: nutritious food, exercise, sleep, dental hygiene and immunizations.
We adhere to the Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data used to formulate these recommendations was meticulously reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices composed of experts in infectious disease and NOT the pharmaceutical industry.
After vaccines are approved for use, their safety and effectiveness are monitored by 2 separate surveillance systems: the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). VAERS is a reporting system where patients and providers report reactions potentially related to vaccines. VSD is a collaboration between the CDC and 8 large managed care organizations to monitor for reactions. These reporting systems demonstrated their efficacy following the introduction of Rotashield Vaccine. Within 9 months it was identified that the Rotashield vaccine was a likely cause of a rare intestinal obstruction. The vaccine was immediately taken off the market. In other words, the system worked to identify a rare side effect and corrective action was taken.
There are germs on every surface that we touch: on our skin, in our mouths, gut and reproductive tract. Our bodies are constantly facing multiple immune challenges simultaneously. Our immune system consists of two branches- innate and adaptive. As the name implies, innate immunity is present at birth. Innate immunity develops quickly and is very non-specific. Adaptive immunity develops slowly over weeks after exposure to a threat. Antibodies are a very specific geometric match to the threat and there are literally millions of antibody combinations to disarm an invader. Unfortunately, with an initial exposure to a pathogen adaptive immunity takes time to develop. A newborn simply has not had previous exposure to mount the necessary protections quickly, thus putting them at risk. Infants have the capacity to respond to 10,000 foreign antigens simultaneously. The entire vaccine schedule from birth to 21 years contains under 200 antigens which is down from over 2000 in the 1970s due to improvements in vaccine technology. Please watch the videos below to help understand how elegant the immune system is!
As partners in your child’s health, we cannot in good conscience participate in leaving our youngest and most vulnerable patients at risk for preventable disease. If we cannot agree on the most basic preventative health measures, we suggest you seek care in a setting where your provider is philosophically aligned.
