Announcements

Health Net HMO UC Blue & Gold Plan 2012

Berkeley Pediatrics — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:41:28 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that the Alta Bates Medical Group doctors will be part of the University of California Blue & Gold benefits plan for 2012. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Children's Hospital Oakland are also part of the Blue and Gold plan. If you have any questions, contact the business office at 848 4782.

Mumps Cases Confirmed in Berkeley - Links to information

Dr. Benjamin King — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:00:08 +0000

See this City of Berkeley Public Health Announcement for more information. Children receive their first immunization at 15months, and their second at the pre-Kindergarten visit. In keeping with our immunization policy, our patients are fully immunized assuming they come in for their routine well checks. There are rare exceptions in our population, dating from an earlier era. If you think your school aged or teenaged patient may not be immunized for MMR, please call the office to confirm and/or setup an immunization visit. Mumps is particularly worrisome in children approaching puberty as it is rarely but significantly associated with sterility in males.

2011-2012 Flu Vaccine is now available

Berkeley Pediatrics — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:14:01 +0000

It is recommended that everyone 6 months and older be vaccinated against influenza, especially those with asthma and chronic illness. Contact our office at 848-2566 to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Grace So Starts at BPMG!

Dr. Benjamin King — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:21:44 +0000

Hello!

We are pleased to announce Dr. Grace So has started at BPMG, and is now working full time.

We are very excited to have her here. Check out her bio under the "Physicians" menu on the left side of the screen.

Whooping Cough Vaccine Required for School Entry

Dr. Benjamin King — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:30:57 +0000

Starting Fall 2011, California students entering 7^th-12^th grade will be required to have documentation of a pertussis (Whooping Cough) booster vaccine. This vaccine is given in the form of dTap or Tdap, which includes vaccines for diptheira, tetanus and pertussis. The vaccine is given at age 11 years. Most of our middle school and high school age patients have received the vaccine already. Immunization records are available in the office anytime or they can be printed from the patient portal.

Dr. Elaine Davenport Leaving BPMG End of July

Dr. Benjamin King — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:45:39 +0000

an excerpt from the letter she has sent to her patients:

"Berkeley Pediatrics has been a wonderful place to work and I am not looking to replace it. Rather, I have decided to leave private practice to focus on pursuing my interests in school health and improving access to health care in underserved communities. I will be staying in the area and doing some contract work in various settings both clinical and non-clinical.

It has been a pleasure working with all of you in this well-educated, diverse and thriving community."

We will miss you Elaine!

Dr. Grace So Bio Added!

Dr. Benjamin King — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:43:13 +0000

see our bio page for the full text.

Welcome Dr. So!

She will be starting August 22nd.

MMR Vaccine Recommended for ALL 6-11mo Olds Travelling Outside US

Dr. Benjamin King — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:41:11 +0000

See this CDC posting for more details. Based on an outbreak of measles cases, there has been a shift in the recommendations for travel vaccines.

MMR vaccine is routinely given at our practice at 15mo old. Based on the above recommendation, we will give the MMR at 6-11 mo old to those infants travelling outside the US. The MMR vaccine would be given again at 15mo with the final routine booster at 4-6years old.

Measles is one of the most infectious viral infections known. The vaccine is quite safe as has been proven repeatedly over the last few years.

More information about measles and the measles vaccine can be found here.

13 Measles Cases in California!

Dr. Benjamin King — Tue, 17 May 2011 19:30:42 +0000

See the CDC Health Advisory for more information.

We give the MMR vaccine routinely at 15months.

Note that it is newly recommended by the CDC that families travelling to Europe with infants 6 to 15months old should get their first MMR immunization prior to travel.

Japan and radiation

Berkeley Pediatrics — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:10:55 +0000

The doctors at Berkeley Pediatrics do not recommend buying or giving potassium iodide to your families. We feel there is no risk of radiation exposure from Japan that merits this action. Please review the following websites for more information.