Vaccines For Children (VFC) Program

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1. What is VFC?
2.Who is Eligible for VFC?
3. Why Should My Clinic Enroll in VFC?
4. How Do I Enroll My Clinic in VFC?
5. What is Required of Enrolled Providers?
6. Vaccines Available Through VFC
7. VFC Program Success
8. VFC Documents, Files, & Forms

1. What is VFC?

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program allows enrolled health care providers to give free immunizations to eligible children. The intent is to remove cost as a barrier from receiving timely immunizations. VFC is considered one of our nation’s most successful public-private partnerships for improving public health.

VFC was created by an act of Congress in 1993. This legislation entitles all children to receive Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines. VFC allows the Philadelphia Department of Publich Health (PDPH) to offer the vaccines at no charge to enrolled VFC providers.

As of 2013, about 70% of the children in the city of Philadelphia were eligible for the VFC program. There are currently 201 VFC providers in the Philadelphia Immunization Program. PDPH employs 3 full-time nurses and 4 vaccine specialists who oversee the administration of the VFC program in Philadelphia.

Looking for a specific VFC document? Click here for our document, files, and forms list.

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2. Who is Eligibile for VFC?

A child is eligible for the VFC Program if he or she is younger than 19 years of age and is one of the following:

1. Medicaid-eligible
2. Uninsured
3. Under-insured (FQHC only)
4. Native American or Alaska Native

Children who are part of CHIP, privately-insured or over the 19 are not eligible for VFC. Providers must screen patients for VFC at every immunization visit.

Please refer to our VFC Eligibility Guide and VFC Eligibility Screening Record.

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3. Why Should My Clinic Enroll in VFC?

By removing financial barriers to immunization for both patients and providers, VFC: 

• Facilitates timely and age-appropriate immunizations for children
• Reduces referrals to public clinics for immunizations 
• Allows patients to choose where they go for comprehensive care 
• Makes it easier to provide high quality care to patients

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4. How Do I Enroll My Clinic in VFC?

Before your clinic can be enrolled in the VFC Program, you’ll need to ensure that your office meets these qualifications:

1. Serve VFC-eligible children 
2. Have appropriate refrigeration and freezer units that can maintain appropriate temperatures for vaccine storage (no dorm style units) Find more information on vaccine storage requirements here
   
3. Have access to the internet to order vaccines online 
4. Electronically report all administered vaccines to PhilaVax IIS 
5. Can meet the requirements of the VFC Provider Agreement

 

If your office meets these qualifications, you’ll complete the enrollment process:

1. Complete the electronic enrollment form
2. Attend the VFC site visit training
3. Submit 7 days of vaccine storage temperature data, showing in range temperatures, before receiving VFC vaccine

 

All providers enrolled in VFC are required to complete the VFC enrollment form annually, due each June. 

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5. What is Required of Enrolled Providers?

Below is an overview of the requirements for enrolled providers. Detailed information about how to meet these requirements can be accessed through the links included below. 

Comply with the ACIP immunization schedule

The U.S. Recommended Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedule indicates the recommended ages for routine administration of currently licensed childhood vaccines for children through age 18 years. 

 VFC providers must comply with current immunization schedules, dosages, and contraindications as established by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). 

Enrolled providers are required to maintain a supply of all the ACIP recommended vaccines for the patient population they serve.  

Doses not given at the recommended age should be given at any future visit using the catch-up schedule as a guide. 

Additional vaccines may be licensed and recommended during the year. Information about these changes will be communicated to enrolled providers on this website and via email. 

Take financial responsibility for the VFC vaccine at your clinic

Even though VFC vaccine is supplied free of charge to enrolled providers, the doses are not provided to the program at no cost. VFC vaccine is purchased from vaccine manufacturers under contract using federal taxpayer dollars. To ensure the continuation of the VFC Program, vaccine wasted through negligence must be replaced on a dose-per-dose basis.  

Given the goal of the VFC program to remove financial barriers to vaccination for eligible patients, enrolled providers must adhere to the capped vaccine administration fees for eligible patients. By enrolling in the VFC Program your office agrees to not:  

• Charge for VFC vaccine 
• Impose a vaccine administration fee higher than the fee cap established by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which is currently $23.14 per vaccine
• Deny access to federally purchased vaccines to an established patient whose parent is unable to pay the vaccine administration fee
• Charge a vaccine administration fee to non-Medicaid insured VFC-eligible children that exceeds the federal administration fee cap. For Medicaid VFC-eligible children, the provider must accept the reimbursement for vaccination set by the state Medicaid agency or the contracted Medicaid health plans. 

Participate in site visits 

The Philadelphia VFC Program conducts site visits with enrolled provider sites to ensure compliance with VFC Program requirements. Providers should expect a visit from VFC staff at least once per year, but these may occur more frequently. Depending on the type of visit, some preparation may be required of the provider/staff prior to the visit. More information about these visits can be found in the VFC Program Manual Guide (We are in the process of updating this resource. Please check back for an update).

Maintain a supply of vaccines on-hand 

Providers enrolled in the VFC Program are responsible for ordering appropriate amounts of vaccine and maintaining proper vaccine inventory. Vaccine needed for a practice is based on the number of VFC-eligible children seen in a practice. The vaccine inventory is tracked by the completion of monthly reconciliations.  Reconciliation means keeping track of your vaccine inventory in PhilaVax – documenting vaccine doses that have been administered, returned, or adjusted due to wastage.  

Providers are required to order VFC vaccine and document their inventory in the PhilaVax online ordering system. Find more information on maintaining your inventory here. 

Separate vaccines by funding source

Private, VFC, and VFAAR vaccine can’t be used interchangeably. Clearly label VFC vaccine to distinguish it from privately purchased vaccine.  

 When you receive vaccine shipments, label them as you unpack and store them. You can request VFC stickers at no cost from us on our Materials Page.

Store vaccines & monitor temperatures

All VFC vaccines need to be stored in a precise temperature range – some need to be in the fridge and some need to be in the freezer. In addition, all VFC vaccine must be constantly monitored to ensure that correct temperature storage is maintained until it is administered to patients. 

Learn more about storing vaccines and maintaining correct temperature ranges on our Storage and Handling Page.

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6. What Vaccines are Available Through VFC?

VFC  providers are required to order all of the ACIP recommended vaccines for the  population of VFC eligible patients they serve. The tables below show the vaccine brands and presentations available though our VFC program:

Click here to download a list of available VFC vaccines.

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7. VFC Program Success

Pediatric Coverage 

Vaccination completed by 24 months of age. Recorded from PhilaVax IIS as of 2/1/19. 

2019 Philadelphia Coverage Levels 

4:3:1:3:3:1:4	72%
4 DTaP	75%
3 Polio	90%
1 MMR	89%
3 Hib	90%
3 Hep B	90%
1 Varicella	89%
UTD PCV13	91%

Adolescent Coverage 

Vaccination completed by the 13th birthday. Recorded from PhilaVax IIS as of 2/1/19. 

Vaccine	2019 Philadelphia Coverage Levels
1 Tdap	95%
1 MCV4	94%
UTD HPV	61%
3 Hep B	84%
2 MMR	83%
2 Varicella	90%
2 Hep A	89%

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