Mindful Pediatrics: Office Updates Summer 2021

This time of year is always extremely busy for us at the office because so many kids are attending camps, signing up for sports and in need of well-child visits for the upcoming school year.

For children over 3 years old, we are only allowed to sign forms if your child has had a well-child care appointment in the last 12 months (telemedicine or in person). I encourage you to call now to schedule an appointment while we still have availability.

For younger children, please call the office for more details. 

As the summer progresses, it will become more difficult for us to accommodate last minute requests. We should have plenty of time to accommodate everyone who needs a visit—as long as you plan a little in advance. 

As the COVID-19 Vaccine is being added to the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children, we are getting lots of calls about what we recommend.

We don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all solution and so Dr. Roy is offering one-on-one vaccine consultation appointments to help you make the decision that best suits your child(ren) and family. Simply call the office to book a session.

For the 2021-2022 school year, all children will either need to be up-to-date on their vaccinations or submit a vaccination exemption form.  There are two types of vaccination exemptions.

Medical Exemptions

True Medical exemptions are very rare and usually reserved for those who have negatively reacted to vaccines in the past. We don’t make these rules. Here is a link to many of the contraindications for vaccinations.

If you believe your child qualifies for a medical exemption, we can discuss this with you at either your child’s well-child care visit or schedule a short appointment to discuss it at any other time.

Non-Medical Exemptions (formerly called Personal & Religious Exemptions) 

In the state of Colorado, you are entitled to exempt your child from the “mandatory” vaccinations for any reason. Starting this year, you will need to watch an online education program before you can exempt your child. Click on this link to access the new program.

After personally reviewing the program for my own children’s vaccine exemptions, I was pleasantly surprised. I found it to be informative, accurate and non-judgmental for the most part. It is certainly one-sided and I think some helpful information was left out, but my overall impression was positive.

At the end of the online module, you will have an opportunity to fill out a digital Non-Medical exemption form for all your children. If you submit it electronically you will also be added to the state database.  To avoid being added to the database you may chose the print-only option and provide the printed form to any institution you choose.

There is an additional option to skip the online educational module if you get a provider’s signature. Because we believe that the online module is worthwhile, and it is ultimately your decision and therefore your responsibility to decide how you choose to vaccinate your child, we will not be signing those forms. 

While we are so excited that masks are coming off in the general public, it is still recommended that everyone continue to wear a mask while in doctors’ offices.

Because we care for some clients who are more vulnerable, we will continue to have a mandatory mask policy at Mindful Pediatrics.  Any exceptions must be approved by our providers in advance.

We look forward to the day when we can all safely and comfortably share each other’s smiles in person again. We will certainly keep you posted as things continue to evolve.