There are also alternative schedules that are not endorsed by any public health authority.
These include schedules from pediatrician Robert Sears (a.k.a.
“Dr. Bob”), cardiac surgeon Dr. Donald Miller, and others.
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In the United States, ACIP statements are official federal recommendations.
Vaccinations usually are delivered in a series of doses to build durable immunity to the disease.
Not all of the ACIP recommendations are taken up by the states, but the majority are.
Get our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
No alternative immunization schedule is endorsed by any medical association in the United States.
No, vaccines do not overload or overburden the immune system.
Every day, a child’s immune system is exposed to and successfully fights off thousands of germs.
Despite this, many pediatricians are accommodating parents' requests for adjustment to the ACIP schedule.
Summary
Vaccine schedules are designed to ensure that a child is protected from preventable diseases.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): general committee-related information.
American Academy of Family Physicians.Birth through age 18 immunization schedule.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Your child needs vaccines as they grow!
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Child and adolescent immunization schedule by age.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV] (the nasal spray flu vaccine).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vaccines & immunizations: requirements and law.
Immunization Action Coalition.Alternative schedules: resources & information.
2014;54(3):236243. doi:10.1177/0009922814548838
Western Canada Immunization Forum.Alternative immunization schedules.
Miller C, Miller D.Medicine is not science.Eur J Person Centered Healthcare.2014;2(2):144-153.
Los Angeles Times.Vaccination controversy swirls around O.C.s Dr. Bob.
Robert Sears takes on both sides of the great vaccination divide.
Edwards KM, Hackell JM.The Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine.
2016;138(3):e20162146.
In:The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studies.
Washington (DC): National Academies Press.
