Pioneer Valley Pediatrics

09/25/2025

It has unfortunately been a very confusing week to be a parent in the United States. We be posting some helpful links with scientifically sound information and recommendations to help clear things up!

09/24/2025

Hi PVP parents!
Some of you may be wondering why babies receive Hepatitis B vaccines. Good question!
This week's Just the Facts addresses the Hepatitis B vaccine for children.

Why a Hep B birth dose?
The claim:
With ACIP expected to recommend getting rid of the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth and delaying it to age 4, we want to talk about why the vaccine is given at birth.

The facts:
Hepatitis B (Hep B) can spread through s*x, but that’s not the only way it spreads. Doctors recommend giving babies the Hep B vaccine at birth because many babies were being born to mothers who didn’t know they had the infection. Scientists believe that about 30–40% of people with long-lasting (chronic) Hep B got it either when they were born or when they were very young. Only about half of mothers with Hep B are found before they give birth.

Even today, around 25,000 babies in the U.S. are born each year to moms with Hep B. If a newborn catches it, about 90% of them will stay infected for life. This raises their chances of liver disease and liver cancer later on.

There are many reasons why mothers don’t know they have Hep B. The test for Hep B is harder to understand than some other tests. A mom might get infected after her first test during pregnancy, but before giving birth. Tests can also be wrong sometimes, showing a false “negative.” Mistakes can happen too—like ordering the wrong test, reading the results wrong, or not sharing the results clearly.

Hepatitis B can also live outside the body for up to 7 days, even in dried blood. That means it can spread in other ways, too, like through bites in daycare, dirty needles, or bandages left in public places. This doesn’t happen often, but it’s still possible.

The Hep B vaccine is very safe. The most common side effects are just soreness or pain where the shot was given. Serious side effects are extremely rare—so rare that none have been proven after millions of doses. Because the vaccine is safe, and babies can get Hep B at birth or soon after, doctors give the first dose right when a baby is born.

Your PVP doctors are always here to answer any questions about vaccines that you may have! Thank you for letting us care for your children!

09/13/2025

Happy first flu clinic day 2025!!!!! It’s a great day to get a flu shot ❤️💉😊
If you haven’t made an appointment for a flu clinic, call us on Monday!!
We have three upcoming dates

09/12/2025

Phones are working well again in the Longmeadow office!! Thank you for your patience. Happy Friday!

09/12/2025

The phone system in our Longmeadow office is experiencing some difficulties that may increase wait times. You do not need to call our Enfield office. We are answering your calls and we appreciate your patience while this issue is being addressed. :)

07/15/2025

50 years ago, on July 14, 1975, I joined this small pediatric office with 2 pediatricians and 4 employees. All of sudden its been 50 years, 9 docs and 40+ employees. I've had the privilege of working with some of the most amazing dedicated colleagues and have been blessed to support generations of famlies. These fantastic docs and coworkers honored me with amazing gifts of gratitude and love. My heart is full with thanks. ❤️

06/17/2025

Did you know we have Suggestion Boxes in our waiting rooms?
A Longmeadow parent had a really good suggestion and now each patient bathroom has a stool for our little friends. Keep those ideas 💡 coming! We like hearing from you!

06/13/2025

Just the facts for our parents and caregivers.

Are childhood vaccines grounded in evidence?

The claim:
In a hearing before the Senate HELP committee, RFK Jr. claimed that most childhood vaccines were not tested for safety using placebo trials before being approved and that the government only recently started using evidence-based medicine for vaccines.

The facts:
Above, Kennedy claims 1) vaccine experts at the CDC and FDA haven’t used “evidence-based medicine” until recently 2) vaccines are exempt from pre-licensing safety testing, 3) the only vaccine tested in a placebo-controlled trial was the COVID vaccine and 4) that children receive 76 of these "untested" shots.

Evidence-based medicine means using the best available data and research to make medical decisions. This has been part of vaccine development for decades. The committees at the CDC and FDA are made up of doctors, scientists, and public health experts who look at all the scientific data before making decisions about vaccines. These groups don’t just guess—they follow strict rules and look at all the evidence before recommending a vaccine for use.

Vaccines are tested very carefully before they are approved; the process is clearly laid out by the CDC and FDA. First, they go through lab and animal testing. Then, they go through three stages of human clinical trials and those results are thoroughly reviewed before the vaccines are considered for approvals.

In these trials, thousands of volunteers are given either the vaccine or something else, like a placebo or a different vaccine, so researchers can compare the results. Even if the placebo is not always just saline (an “inert” placebo), the comparison is still valid. Scientists compare rates of illness and side effects between the two groups to see how well the vaccine works and whether it causes any problems.

A common misconception is that a placebo must be an inert substance, but that's not always the case. If there is an adjuvant that has been tested for safety in the past, the placebo might include the adjuvant to keep the trial arms as identical as possible between the vaccine and the placebo. Additionally, in the cases of new vaccines, if there is a vaccine that already exists, that can be used as a placebo against a new, possibly improved vaccine, since you're testing whether the new treatment works better than the old one.

Saline-placebo-controlled trials are conducted for many vaccines to assess both safety and efficacy:

Rubella vaccine
Pneumococcal vaccine
Hib vaccines
HPV vaccine
The Salk Polio vaccine
Measles vaccine
Tdap vaccine
COVID vaccine
There are currently 22 diseases on the childhood vaccine schedule that children are protected against. Some of them have multiple doses of vaccine, but protection against some of the diseases are combined together so that you are getting protection against 4 or even 6 diseases in one shot. For example, Vaxelis is a vaccine that protects against 6 diseases over a course of 3 doses, yet opponents would count that as having received 24 shots.

In short, vaccines are among the most carefully tested medical products we have. They undergo long, detailed studies before being used in people, and scientists continue to monitor their safety even after they are approved.

06/13/2025

We are so proud of all of our High School Seniors!!!! Congratulations to all of you and your families!!!!
Check out one amazing project staring many of our patients!!!!

Produced by Mr. Casinghino's Advanced Film & Video Class, May 2025Cinematography by Jackson Dapo Segments directed by students of Advanced Film & Video and I...

06/09/2025

We had a wonderful time celebrating with Drs Segool and Tapper yesterday!! A well deserved retirement for these extraordinary physicians. They will be missed!!!!

05/10/2025

We wrapped up an amazing week celebrating our amazing nurses and staff today!!! Smiles all around 😊

05/08/2025

More fun celebrating our amazing staff!!! And delivery with a smile from Dr. Winters!!!!