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VACCINES FOR CHILDREN (VFC) In 1994, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) created the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program that provides vaccines at no cost for children 0-18 years of age who are Medicaid-enrolled, have no health insurance, or are American Indian or Alaskan Native. The VFC program combines the efforts of public and private health care providers to provide immunization to our nation's most vulnerable children. Through this program, the following vaccines are made available, within certain
limitations (see below), for eligible children from birth to age 18 years:
As of January 1996, all 50 states provided VFC services. Twenty-five CDC vaccine contracts purchase vaccines (using VFC, CDC, state, and local funds) at prices substantially lower than retail. As of December 1996, more than 10,000 public provider sites and 31,000 private provider sites were enrolled in the VFC program, for a total of nearly 42,000 provider sites. More than 75% of these are private, rather than public, sites. Iowa currently has 246 private and 245 public provider sites. VFC Update In January of 1997, the following VFC Update was provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health: Hepatitis B:
Please note: VFC federal requirements and funding limit the administration of adolescent hepatitis B vaccine to a single cohort. Private providers may vaccinate VFC-eligible 12 year old children or 7th graders. Because some public health agencies may be administering school-based hepatitis B projects for 7th graders, private providers will also be allowed to immunize VFC-eligible children enrolled in 7th grade. Measles, Mumps, Rubella: Children through age 18 years who are eligible for the VFC program, and who do not have documentation of a second dose of MMR, are eligible to receive a second dose. Varicella Children who are eligible for the VFC program and who are 12 to 24 months of age are eligible to receive varicella vaccine. If you have any questions regarding these policies,
1-800-831-6293
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