"The two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world's health are clean water and vaccines." - World Health Organization

Interlachen's Vaccine Policy

Interlachen Pediatrics is committed to recommending only those treatments and therapies that have been supported by research and sound scientific reasoning. Therefore, our office strongly recommends that your children receive the routine schedule of childhood vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This schedule of vaccines has been devised by the world’s foremost authorities in infectious disease prevention. It is the culmination of decades of international research and scientific discovery. The individuals involved have dedicated their lives to the study of vaccines, and their efforts are responsible for saving countless millions of lives worldwide. Their recommendations are further scrutinized by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the highly regarded Institutes of Medicine and countless other scientific organizations. Needless to say these public policy decisions regarding our collective children’s health is not taken lightly.

Over the last several years there has been media speculation that Autism is caused by the administration of vaccines. There is now a huge body of international scientific research disputing the claim that MMR or other vaccines cause Autism. The same is true regarding the preservative Thimerosal. Despite this research, it has been difficult to convince the public of these facts because of the emotional issues propagated by the media.

The Medical community has made giant strides in the fight against diseases that have killed millions. Smallpox, meningitis, polio and diphtheria are terms that parents do not have to hear used to describe their children anymore, at least in the United States. Our duty as physicians and nurses compel us to educate our patients to not let down their guard against these diseases which unfortunately are only an airplane ride away.

Therefore, our physicians and nurses recommend and will follow the schedule of childhood vaccines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We will not split MMR vaccine into separate components. We will not follow alternative schedules published on the Internet that are based on anecdote and hysteria. Our Physicians are the best trained to advise you on vaccine preventable disease for your child and the appropriate time for their administration.

To see more information about vaccines, see Vaccine Information