The New York City Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program is a federally funded program that supplies providers in private and public health care facilities throughout New York City with free vaccines for eligible children. Besides VFC, additional types of funding may be allocated to cover additional populations.
Provider Quality Assurance Unit
In New York City, the Provider Quality Assurance (PQA) Unit oversees the review and evaluation of VFC provider practices and is implemented through VFC and AFIX (Assessment, Feedback, Incentives, and eXchange) site visits. These visits involve storage and handling evaluations, chart reviews, and analysis of electronic immunization records, vaccine ordering, and vaccine utilization through NYC's Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR).
Vaccine Management Unit (VMU)
The Vaccine Management Unit (VMU) is responsible for processing over 3.3 million doses of publicly funded vaccine for nearly 1,600 immunization providers each year. This unit ensures that providers receive vaccines in accordance with their vaccine reporting to the CIR and alerts the PQA Unit of any issues that may require follow-up.
City Immunization Registry (CIR)
The Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR) is a central record-keeping system used to track the immunization status of individual children and monitor immunization levels in the population. The CIR is accessible to licensed health care providers, parents, and agencies authorized by DOHMH to retrieve immunization records in order to ensure that children receive all required immunizations. The CIR provides two methods for exchanging immunization data with providers: 1) through the online registry, a web-based application or 2) through interfaces with provider electronic health records (EHRs), a requirement for providers participating in the meaningful use incentive program. For more information, please visit City Immunization Registry (CIR) .
In NYC, children from birth through 18 years of age who fall under any of the following categories are eligible for publicly-funded vaccine:
Please note that the following children are NOT considered underinsured:
In order to join the NYC VFC program, providers must serve children who fall under any of the eligibility categories listed above. In addition, providers must NOT be included in the Medicare/Medicaid Restricted and Excluded Individuals or Entities list