Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program
Background
The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program is administered nationally by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through its National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). CDC provides operational funding to 61 state, local, and territorial immunization programs (called “awardees”), who implement and oversee the VFC program. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health Immunization Division is one such “awardee”. Barnstable County is enrolled in the Massachusetts VFC program as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), ordering vaccines as needed to distribute as a facet of our Public Immunization Program.
How it Works
The federal government purchases pediatric vaccines at a discount and ships them directly to enrolled providers (in this case the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), freeing them from the fiscal burden of vaccine purchase and distribution. Awardees select the vaccines needed by eligible children in their jurisdictions, and the vaccines are then shipped to the local health departments, pediatricians, family practitioners, general practitioners, and other participating health care provider locations that perform the vaccinations. Enrolled provider locations receive all routinely recommended pediatric vaccines at no cost for eligible children and are prohibited from charging for VFC vaccines. * Children younger than 19 years of age who meet one or more of the following criteria are eligible to receive VFC-funded vaccines at no cost: **
- Medicaid-eligible/ includes MassHealth
- Uninsured
- American Indian or Alaskan Native
- Underinsured (i.e., their health insurance does not cover vaccination)
*Providers cannot bill for the cost of federally purchased vaccines, but may bill for vaccine administration fees, regionally set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
**Parents do not have to pay for the cost of the vaccines, but there can be some costs with a VFC visit, including an office visit fee or fees for non-vaccine services that occur during the visit.
Goals of the VFC Program
The goal of the VFC Program is to ensure that a VFC Program-eligible child does not contract a vaccine-preventable disease because of their parent or guardian’s inability to pay for the vaccine. As a primary driver of health equity in public health, the VFC Program supports improved immunization coverage levels among eligible children by:
- Preventing 472 million illnesses and 29.8 million hospitalizations nationwide, saving an estimated $2.2 trillion annually due to the prevention of illnesses.
- Providing vaccines that protect against 19 different diseases.
- Eliminating or reducing vaccine cost as a barrier to vaccinating eligible children.
- Reducing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in child vaccination rates, improving equity.
The Vaccine for Children Program in Barnstable County
Barnstable County has been enrolled in the VFC since 2012. In FY24 the Public Health Nursing Division administered pediatric vaccinations to 376 children/teens in our region. In addition to private appointments, the Division holds several vaccine clinics each year throughout Cape Cod. This past August, the nurses tabled at a Touch-a-Truck event in Hyannis, where kids could visit the firetrucks as a distraction, and catch up on their vaccinations. The nurses saw 120 children and gave out 250 vaccines!
The Barnstable County Public Health Nursing Division offers all immunizations, including flu vaccine, to all County residents (both insured and uninsured). Appointments are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 4:00pm. To schedule an appointment, call 508-375-6617. We offer the following vaccines:
- Influenza (Flu) – regular & high dose
- Covid- Pfizer >12 years
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- HPV
- Meningococcal
- MMR
- Polio
- Rabies (pre-exposure series)
- Shingles – Shingrix
- TDap
- Varicella
In addition, we also offer the following “travel” vaccines:
- Yellow Fever
- Typhoid
- Japanese Encephalitis
For more information about our Public Health Division, please visit: Public Health – Barnstable County (capecod.gov).
