PROTECT YOUR VACCINES:
Measure and record refrigerator temperatures twice
a day.
Store vaccines only at recommended temperatures.
Establish vaccine storage and handling protocols.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
Use the Eligibility Screening Form for each patient.
Record lot numbers, expiration dates, and VIS publication dates for all administered vaccine doses.
Report each administered vaccine to the Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR).
Vaccines for Children Program (VFC)
Working in partnership with healthcare providers to ensure that all children are immunized against communicable diseases--for the good of parents, schools, the community, and for the children themselves.
What is the Vaccines for Children program?
The Vaccines for Children Program is a federally funded program which supplies doctors in private and public health care facilities with free vaccines for eligible children. VFC was created by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 as a new entitlement program to be a required part of each state's Medicaid plan. The program was officially implemented in October 1994.
Who is eligible for VFC vaccines?
Children through 18 years of age who meet at least one of the following criteria are VFC eligible:
- Medicaid eligible
- Uninsured
- Underinsured: A child who has commercial (private) health insurance but the coverage does not include vaccines, a child whose insurance covers only selected vaccines (VFC-eligible for non-covered vaccines only), or a child whose insurance caps vaccine coverage at a certain amount. Once that coverage amount is reached, the child is categorized as underinsured (Underinsured children are eligible to receive VFC vaccine only through a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or Rural Health Clinic (RHC)
- Native-American or Alaskan Native
What vaccines are supplied by the VFC program?
The VFC program provides all ACIP recommended vaccines for children under 19 years of age: MMR, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, Haemophilus Influenzae type b disease, influenza, human papillomavirus, meningococcal conjugate, pneumococcus (both pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), rotavirus, and varicella (chicken pox).
For more information about the Vaccines for Children program or to enroll in the program, call (212) 447-8175.
For more information on where your child can be vaccinated, call 311.
