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When it comes to vaccinating children, we support and follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the leading professional organization for pediatricians. We advise all families to immunize their children according to the AAP's schedule, and we strive for 100% vaccine coverage among children who visit our primary care practice.
Published research and our own firsthand experience have shown us that immunization helps protect children from many common infections, which in some cases can lead to serious and even life-threatening complications. Immunization also prevents children from passing these infections on to others, including their parents and other family members.
How are we doing?
We track the immunization rates of children between the ages of 2 and 3 who are seen in our Primary Care Center, which provides general pediatric care to more than 15,000 infants, children and young adults each year. Our vaccination rates continue to hover around 90% substantially higher than the national and state averages, (as estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and include families who decline vaccines or arrive after age 1.
What are we doing to improve?
We are moving to try harder to identify children who fall behind on vaccines earlier, to identify small children who are not getting shots at 2 months of age, and track them more closely. At the same time we’re continuing our existing efforts to identify children who miss visits in the second year of life (the most common reason for our patients to be behind on vaccinations).
How do we compare to other hospitals?
Not all hospitals share their immunization rates, so it's not possible to directly compare our rates with those of other children's hospitals. However, the Massachusetts and national averages, which group together a range of hospitals and other health care providers, offer a good benchmark for judging our performance.