Vaccine Policy

Dakota Pediatric Associates wants to maintain a safe environment where our families can receive exceptional medical care compliant with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). We soundly believes that vaccines are safe, effective and save lives.  We strongly encourage vaccinations unless there is a medical contraindication to not do so.

Vaccinations have proved to be a victim of their own success. The vaccination of prior generations has led to many of today’s parents never experiencing or seeing a loved one suffer from or succumb to polio, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, or bacterial meningitis. This success can lead to families mistakenly thinking that these illnesses no longer exist and therefore do not need vaccine protection. As this misbelief has become more widespread, we are seeing increasing numbers of cases of illnesses such as measles and whooping cough, which are potentially deadly.

Choosing not to vaccinate or to under-vaccinate your child at risk but also puts at risk our young and chronically ill children who are unable to receive the vaccines due to medical contraindications. Vaccination of the majority of the population leads to herd immunity, where the immunization of most leads to greater protection for all.

This policy is not intended to scare or coerce any family but rather to emphasize the importance of vaccinations. Dakota Pediatric Associates recognizes that the choice to vaccinate may be very personal for some parents.

We believe strongly that vaccines are effective in preventing serious illness and saving lives, and we are dedicated to preventing illness for our families. We believe strongly that the vaccines we provide are safe. The recommended vaccines and schedule are the results of many years of scientific research by thousands of the brightest physicians and scientists.

Dr. Forward and Dr. Blaufuss have vaccinated their own children fully and on time, following the schedule created by the AAP.