Some parents across the Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland (DMV) area are looking for new pediatricians after medical practices asked them to leave because of their children’s vaccination status. Pediatric practices in the region have different policies, with some requiring children to follow recommended vaccination schedules while others take a more flexible approach.1
The issue comes as some pediatricians’ report seeing more families question or delay routine childhood vaccinations, leading some parents to look for practices that will continue treating children who do not follow the recommended vaccination schedule.2
Some families seek pediatric practices that describe their policies as “vaccine-friendly” or “vaccine-optional.” A Northern Virginia nurse practitioner, who wished to remain anonymous because some providers who offer vaccine-optional care have experienced harassment, said that families often find these practices through word-of-mouth recommendations and online databases.
The practice where the nurse works does not require families to follow the traditional American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) vaccination schedule. Some parents choose to delay or stagger vaccines, while others choose not to vaccinate their children. The practice does not administer vaccines but directs families elsewhere if they want them. The nurses stated:
We just are all very careful. It’s a pretty insular community. The one thing I never do is tell them what to do.3
DMV Pediatric Clinics Will Not Accept Unvaccinated Children
Pediatric Associates of Alexandria has maintained a vaccination policy for about a decade. The practice recently dismissed more families who did not comply with its vaccination requirements. The practice follows the childhood vaccination schedule recommended by the AAP. Other providers in the area also have policies that do not accept unvaccinated children.4
Milestones Pediatric & Adolescent Care in Gainesville, Virginia states on their website:
Milestones Pediatric & Adolescent Care does not accept patients whose parents or caregivers choose not to vaccinate or choose to delay recommended vaccines by more than 4 months. Parents or caregivers of established patients who choose not to vaccinate or delay vaccines by more than 4 months will be given a 1-month grace period to find another pediatrics practice.
Kenneth J Kim Pediatrics in Fairfax, Virginia states on their website:
Our office has strict vaccine policy. We strongly believe that your child should receive vaccines during recommended scheduled times as recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics unless medically indicated. Also for the safety of other children, our office do not accept children whose parents refuse or delay vaccines.
As Exemptions Rise in the DMV, Some Pediatric Practices Enforce Strict Vaccine Policies
The debate comes as vaccination exemption rates among kindergarteners have increased in several jurisdictions. Nearly 3.5 percent of Washington, DC kindergarteners had vaccination exemptions during the 2025–2026 school year, compared with 2.7 percent during the previous school year. Virginia’s rate was about 3 percent, while Maryland’s was about 2.5 percent. The national rate was about 4.2 percent.5 6
Most vaccine exemptions among kindergarteners in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia were non-medical. The three jurisdictions allow religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements but do not provide separate personal-belief exemptions.7
Michael J. Hopper, MD of Pediatric Associates of Alexandria said his practice says it has recently dismissed more families who do not meet its vaccination requirements as debate over vaccines has intensified in political and online spaces. He stated:
It has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with the skepticism that politicians are putting out there.8
Adding to the debate about vaccine choice, Tyler Evans, MD, founder and CEO of Wellness Equity Alliance, said:
It’s a very sobering time right now in public health. I guess zooming out, we are still sort of shell-shocked as to how vaccinations ended up becoming one of the most sort of politicized topics in the country, perhaps after abortion and guns.9
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Click here to view References:1 Montgomery M. Some DMV pediatricians are kicking out unvaccinated patients. Axios Sept. 28, 2026.
2 Gonzalez J. Some DMV pediatricians drop unvaccinated patients. ABC 7 News Sept. 29, 2026.
3 Montgomery M. Some DMV pediatricians are kicking out unvaccinated patients. Axios Sept. 28, 2026.
4 Ibid.
5 Gonzalez J. Some DMV pediatricians drop unvaccinated patients. ABC 7 News Sept. 29, 2026.
6 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination Coverage and Exemptions among Kindergartners.
7 Montgomery M. Some DMV pediatricians are kicking out unvaccinated patients. Axios Sept. 28, 2026.
8 Ibid.
9 Gonzalez J. Some DMV pediatricians drop unvaccinated patients. ABC 7 News Sept. 29, 2026.
8 Responses
1. What and where is their written protocal for identifying and treating each and every documented injury, disablity, possible death caused by each of the vaccines they demand the children receive and on the time frame it is demanded?
2 What and where is the written description by these inflexable doctors distribute to the parents/caregivers of their child patients for the documented injuries, disabilities, and possible cause of death?
How many decades did it take before the public accepted that nicotine is addictive and predisposes people to cancer? After the cigarette companies purchased Big Food how many decades did it take for people to recognize that processed food not only lacks nutrition but is addictive and harmful? How many decades has it taken for research to expose harm of EMFs and neurological addiction to screen time? We finally realize the dangers of vaccine adjuvants and simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines. While Dr. Paul Thomas’ research comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children from his practice was published in 2020 and immediately censored, this research has been internationally replicated showing the same findings. It is a “very sobering time right now in public health” because the defense of cognitive dissonance is powerful for providers who have been trained to vaccinate and prescribe. I believe that people’s instinct to protect life and health will prevail.
When are parents going to realize they don’t need a pediatrician?! Wellness visits? Bogus. Unless you have a very sick child, he or she should not have a doctor. It is not necessary. Take charge of your childrens’ health. Feed them whole foods. Let them run and play outside.
There has to be accountability for what happened during the pandemic.People like Fauchi and Walensky must be charged with negligent homicide,convicted and sentenced. Vaccine happy doctors would changed their attitude quickly. The AAP is trying to save face because they used to be a respected organization and are now a disgrace to their profession . Read the history of vaccines. Follow the money will answer all your question. What in God’s name do we have to do to protect children ?
Strict policies! Mandates! Compulsory compliance or we kick you out! Your freedoms stop at the door. We do not accept the principals of volunteerism or a voluntary society in this hospital. We own you! We own your children! You will listen and do what you are told! Right now or get out!
They’re not doctors or hospitals anymore. They’re pharmasuetical industrial complex beneficiaries whom can and will violate peoples constitutional rights and discriminate indiscriminately over their cult beliefs in vaccines. They have ruined their own credibility. Don’t blame us for recognizing their own failures. It’s not our fault. They’re the ones whom chose to behave that way and bully everyone around. Not our type of people. Not people we can trust.
Hardline compliance is non negotiable. Kind of like, communists. In fact, that’s exactly who they are. Why would anyone seek health care from communists in the first place? In a free society, you always have a choice. Communists seek to strip the people of those choices, and force them to comply. That’s what communism is all about, hardline attitudes and inflexible belief systems. The power of the state.
Look, parents, navigating these issues is not that difficult. You don’t have to have conversations or justify why or answer their questions. You just say no to all vaccines. Keep it simple. Just say no. You don’t need to drag your kids into the hospital all the time anyways. We navigated all the way through the teen years with only going in a handful of times. To the eye doctor to check on vision. To the bone doctor for a broken finger now and then. To the dentist to handle the occasional cavity. What you don’t ever actually need to do is go to yearly wellness exams and what not. Skip that year after year and go out to lunch or take a walk, something you’d actually rather do instead. Go your entire life without a vaccine visit, you’ll be fine. Natural immunity happens on it’s own, no doctors required. If you find yourself at the hospital every few months, every year, forever, you as a a parent are probably doing something wrong. Healthy children do not need to go to hospitals.
Good comments all. One addition I’d make is that it’s more the chain biz pediatrics who restrict non-vaccinated children because, drum roll………..they are paid by Pharma!! If they can keep their vaccination rates 95% or better they get a check in the mail. NVIC has posted this info and it’s not hard to verify online. Go figure right?
What happened to logic in this country?
If vaccines supposedly protect children from disease, why do you need to keep unvaccinated kids away from them?!
How did vaccination become a political issue if it wasn’t first a religious (deeply held conviction of our responsibility as parents before our children’s Creator) belief?
MD received $$$bonus for vaccinating over 90%. a few will be late just by not showing up. so we got to vaccine the rest to get our bonus. a unvaccinated child will cost us our $$$bonus .