A message from your Advocare Parsippany Pediatrics doctors and nurse practitioners: 

It’s that time of the year again… school is back in session, and it is time to protect your children against seasonal viral illnesses. Thankfully, we have scientifically proven, safe and effective vaccines to protect your loved ones. Advocare Parsippany Pediatrics is committed to keeping our patients and community healthy and we are providing vaccines to protect against influenza and COVID-19, as well as an antibody to protect our young infants against RSV. The flu and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as RSV protection for infants under 8 months, will be made available at well visits and vaccine clinics. Please call our office for scheduling or to ask us any questions. 

Influenza:

You have likely experienced the flu at some point in your life, and it likely knocked you off your feet for days. Even worse, the flu can be deadly, resulting in over 20,000 pediatric hospitalizations and 260 pediatric deaths in the US during last year’s flu season, with the vast majority being kids who were not vaccinated. We strongly encourage our patients (and their families) 6 months and older to receive the flu vaccine. Our youngest population who are receiving the flu shot for the first time will need 2 vaccinations separated by 4 weeks to receive full protection. 

For more information, please refer to the following link from healthychildren.org: 

CoVID-19:

CoVID can cause severe illness in children, especially for kids under the age of 2 years and those with certain underlying medical conditions. For others it can still result in a debilitating and sometimes chronic illness. And, just like the flu, the COVID-19 virus mutates from year to year to evade our immune system’s learned defenses from the previous year. Fortunately, the vaccine is updated each season to protect against the most recent strain. We want to help protect our patients and those around them by providing this season’s COVID-19 vaccine (we stock Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine) for patients starting at 6 months of age. If a child is fewer than 24 months of age and has never received CoVID vaccine before, they will need 2 vaccinations separated by 4 weeks to receive full protection. 

For more guidance, please refer to the following link from the American Academy of Pediatrics:  

RSV:

Respiratory Syncytial Virus can infect anyone, but infants under 8 months are the most vulnerable group regarding RSV-induced severe lung infections that can result in hospitalization, ICU care, and worse. RSV is the most common cause of hospitalization in children under age 1 year. RSV can easily spread within the home, in daycares, and in other community settings. Fortunately, there are two ways to provide protection to our high-risk population: EITHER mom receives an RSV vaccine during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy OR the baby receives a monoclonal antibody injection (we carry “Beyfortus”). These interventions have each resulted in a tremendous decrease in severe illness, hospitalizations, and ICU care among recipients. 

Our office will be providing Beyfortus, a monoclonal antibody, to our infants younger than 8 months of age beginning October 1st (RSV season that runs from October through March) at well visits or scheduled appointments for this one-time injection.  It will also be made available to a select group of 8 to19-month-old children with very high-risk medical conditions. 

For more information, please refer to the following link: 

These interventions -- influenza vaccine, CoVID-vaccine, and RSV antibody – can be given on the same day, if preferred, and can be given alongside other age-appropriate vaccinations. When scheduling with our receptionists, please be clear about which of these you are requesting so that we can adjust the schedule accordingly. 

As always, we encourage you to contact your providers through the electronic patient-portal (Healow App), or by calling our office, with any questions.  



Dr Adam Handler, MD, FAAP 

Dr Diana Huzar, DO, FAAP 

Dr Navneesh Kabarwal, MD, FAAP 

Dr Daniel Kahn, MD, FAAP 

Dr Jennifer Lam, MD, FAAP 

Janel Post, APN, FNP 

Sharon Schuley, RN, MSN, APN-C