It is official, effective today the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the state will advance beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, allowing businesses to return to normal operations with “common-sense risk reduction measures.” Individual counties are still allowed to enact local mandates, and the health care sector is still required to follow more stringent infection control guidelines. What does this mean for you?

• Everyone over the age of 2 years is still required to wear a mask while in the office
• We are no longer checking temperatures prior to entering our office
• There can be more than 1 parent at a visit IF you have proof of complete COVID vaccination status. We will need to see your COVID vaccine card to confirm
• You do not need to check in from your car, you can come into the office

It has been quite a year, and we are grateful to our families for their patience as we navigated all the nuances of this pandemic.  Team PWG implemented multiple safety measures as we remained open to serve our families and our community during this entire pandemic.  We know it is not “over”, but thanks to all your efforts we are in a much better place today.  Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay kind to one another as we enter this next phase.

It has been a while since the last update, and there have been many exciting developments recently. The FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 and up, and we are proud to have played a small part in vaccinating some of 600,000 US adolescents  that received this vaccine last week. There are also lots of updates about what is and is not recommended once you have gotten the vaccine. Here are some key items:

• Summer camp can be a safe activity if they follow health and safety guidelines such as wearing masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing
• The AAP has published a fantastic article about the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine, feel free to read and share
• Your child is considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after the second dose of the vaccine
• Pfizer has announced plans to request EUA approval for COVID-19 vaccine for ages 2-11 in September
• Experts still recommend that unvaccinated children 2 and up wear a mask when around people outside their immediate household

We have plenty of COVID-19 vaccine appointments so please call or send us a MyChart message to set up an appointment.  Team PWG wants to help make this a safe and happy summer for all our families!

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is officially approved for emergency use in adolescents aged 12 and up, we have been hard at work to make this vaccine available to all our patient who now qualify based on their age. We will be vaccinating our adolescent patients starting 5/17/21.

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY:

• We will only have the Pfizer vaccine
• The vaccine will be the same dose and same dosing schedule currently used in people 16 and up: 2 doses given 3 weeks apart
• This is only for current active patients at PWG
• Appointments are required, we cannot accommodate walk-ins
• Vaccine will be given outside in our parking lot in the same green tent that we used for flu vaccine clinics last fall
• You can go directly to the green tent when you come for your vaccine appointment
• A custodial parent will need to be present during vaccine appointments for all patients 12 to 17 years of age
• Parents: you will need to bring your photo ID and a copy of your child’s most current insurance card

How can you make an appointment for your child to get the COVID vaccine at PWG?

• The fastest way to make an appointment is to send us a message through MyChart
• If you have not already signed on to MyChart you can go to https://www.ucsfhealth.org/mychart and follow the instructions. Their 24/7 customer service phone number is (415) 514-6000
• You can also call us at (650) 216-7794, feel free to leave a message as we are expecting high call volumes.

If your child is eligible for the vaccine, has a well visit coming up, and you would like them to get the COVID vaccine during that visit:

• Send us a MyChart message or call our office and let us know before the visit
• A custodial parent will need to be present during that appointment for all patients 12 to 17 years of age
• Parents: you will need to bring your photo ID and a copy of your child’s most current insurance card
• We will give any additional instructions on the day of the visit

Thank you for your patience during this process.

Thank you for keeping your child, your family, and your community safe!

PWG will be closed on Monday February 15, 2021 for President’s Day

We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday 2/16/2021

Click here for more information on After Hour Pediatrics for urgent care needs.

It has been a while since we had a COVID specific update, unfortunately California is experiencing a surge and that means this holiday season will continue to look and feel a little different. We remain open and ready to serve our community of families. We have implemented multiple safety measures to help reduce the threat of infection. We still have flu vaccine available, and we are offering COVID screening appointments as well. Feel free to call or send us a message via MyChart.

Some key points:

• The CDC has published guidelines for shorter quarantine periods. From the CDC website:
  • Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
    • With this strategy, residual post-quarantine transmission risk is estimated to be about 1% with an upper limit of about 10%.
  • Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
    • With this strategy, residual post-quarantine transmission risk is estimated to be about 1% with an upper limit of about 10%.
  • In both cases, additional criteria (e.g., continued symptom monitoring and masking through Day 14) must be met and are outlined in the full text.
• The CDC also recommends universal mask wearing:
  • masks should be worn for all indoor activity outside of an individual’s home, as well as during all outdoor activity when at least 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained.
  • wear masks in your own household if someone living there has tested positive for the virus or has potentially been exposed
• San Mateo County has not issued a new stay-at-home order yet, but Santa Clara and San Francisco have.
• There are reports of a vaccine coming soon, we do not have any details yet but will share them as soon as we have them.

This pandemic is not over yet, but we have some tools to fight it: wear a mask, wash your hands, maintain social distancing.  We are bigger than this, we can and will get through this crisis together, one day at a time.

PWG began in 2011 out of a desire to serve our community, and we are so incredibly grateful for the support you have given us. We have seen you all rise to the occasion to take care of your family, friends, and community. We have witnessed daily acts of grace and kindness that remind us that even during difficult times there is much to give thanks for:

• Thank you to our amazing front office team: Maria, Merrie and Heydi. They are unsung front-line heroes who do much more than “just answer phones”, the work they do behind the scenes quite literally keeps our office running.
• Thank you to our wonderful medical assistants: Sherry, Mary Kate, Krystal and Stephanie. You all work tirelessly, care deeply, and show up every day ready for any challenge the day might bring.
• Thank you to our magnificent billing team: Lorie, Kathryn and Paul. The work you do keeps our doors open.
• Thank you to our dedicated team of Doctors: Dr. Sue and Dr. Megan. You have worked long hours to care for our families with compassion and empathy.
• Thank you to our network of partners at UCSF and the CMA who have given us clinical support and provided us with critical PPE when we needed it most.
• Thank you to all our fabulous business partners who help us with everything from medical supplies to banking. It really does take a village and with your support we have been able to focus our attention on our mission to serve our community.

Most of all we want to thank our community of families who have adapted to the “new normal” with patience and understanding. You remind us every day of why we went into medicine in the first place: to help people. Thank you for keeping us all safe by wearing your mask, washing your hands, and being socially responsible.

This year Thanksgiving may look and feel different, but the sentiment is still the same. We want to reflect on what we have rather than focus on what we lack.

Wishing all of you a very happy, healthy and peaceful Thanksgiving. Dr. Niki and Dr. Eileen

It’s been quite a month for us, we’ve given out over 1000 doses in 4 weeks! Kudos to our staff, and to all of you, for making this process as smooth as it can be during this “new normal”. We still have plenty of flu vaccine appointment spots for this month, so don’t delay in getting your kids protected this season. Just call us at 650.216.7794 or use your MyChart portal to schedule an appointment online.  PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THINGS ARE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR:

• Flu vaccine clinic is by appointment only.  Unfortunately we cannot accommodate walk-ins due to COVID safety precautions.
• Flu vaccine clinic will be held in a pop-up tent in our parking lot, look for the big green tent. You do NOT need to come in to the office, just go directly to the tent.
• There can be 1 adult with each child.
• Everyone over the age of 2 years will need to wear a mask.
• This flu vaccine clinic is ONLY for the flu vaccine and ONLY for established PWG patients

As always, thank you for your patience…and for getting your children immunized!

We wanted to update you all on a recent change at PWG, Dr. Parker is no longer working at PWG as of October 2020. We want to thank him for all his great service and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Team PWG is working hard to reschedule appointments to ensure a seamless transition and provide continuity of care for all his patients. Once we have more information on Dr. Parker’s next practice location we will pass that along for anyone who is interested.  If you have questions about rescheduling appointments or ongoing care for your child please call our office at 650.216.7794.