Vaccines For Children Program
Get Email Updates:

What is the Vaccines for Children Program? (CDC website)

Parents: Find out if your child is eligible for VFC vaccines. 

Healthcare Providers

Vaccine Information Statements (CDC web site) It's federal law! (IAC Web site) You must give your patients Vaccine Information Statements.

2013 VFC Provider Enrollment and Profile Form (496k.pdf) & How to Become a VFC Provider in Oklahoma

2013 Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules - United States

• Schedule for Persons Birth through 18 Years
• Catch-Up Schedule
• Adult Schedule

New! Guidelines for vaccine storage units: Dormitory or dorm-style refrigerators are no longer acceptable for VFC vaccine storage at any time!

• Refrigerators and Freezers for Vaccine Storage (31k.pdf)
• Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit (CDC web site)

Oklahoma Immunization Update

• May 2013 Oklahoma Immunization Update (88k.pdf) Pediarix® Allocation, Meningococcal Recommendations
• Past Issues of Oklahoma Immunization Update

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)  Recommendations 

• Prevention and Control of Meningococcal Disease, March 22, 2013 (CDC web site)
• Updated Recommendations on Use of Tdap for Pregnant Women (CDC web site)
• All ACIP Recommendations (CDC web site)

Pentacel Shortage Continues
Guidance for Vaccinating Children during the Pentacel® and Daptacel® Shortage (CDC website)

2012-13 Influenza Season - VFC flu vaccine is still available for ordering. Call your Immunization Field Consultant to place an order. 
List of Oklahoma Immunization Field Consultants (26k.pdf)

• Flu Vaccines Available through the Oklahoma Vaccines for Children Program 2012-13 Season (43k.pdf)

Parents: Find out if your child is eligible for VFC vaccines. 

• To find a clinic or doctor near you that participates in the VFC program call your county health department and ask for your Immunization Field Consultant.
• Over 800 clinics and doctor’s offices in Oklahoma participate in the Vaccines for Children Program, including all county health departments and Indian Health Service and tribal clinics and many private doctors.  
• If your child has insurance, vaccines are probably covered by your insurance. Oklahoma's Insurance Law requires most health insurance plans to cover all vaccines required to attend school and child care in Oklahoma.

For information on the flu, please visit the Seasonal Influenza page and the Information for Health Professionals page on this web site.

Healthcare Providers

• How to Become a Vaccines for Children (VFC) Provider
• Oklahoma Vaccines For Children Program Provider Resource Guide 2012 Edition 
• Vaccines Provided by the Vaccines for Children Program (28k.pdf)

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program is a federally-funded state-operated program that provides vaccines at no cost to health care providers to administer to eligible children. 
The goal of the VFC program is to ensure that no child is denied immunization services because of inability to pay for the vaccine.

Who is Eligible for the Vaccines for Children Program?

Children from birth through 18 years of age in the following categories are eligible for VFC vaccine:

• SoonerCare eligible: A child who is eligible for the Medicaid program (SoonerCare in Oklahoma) or is enrolled in the medicaid program.
• Uninsured: A child who has no health insurance coverage
• American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Underinsured: A child who has private health insurance but whose insurance coverage does not include vaccines, or whose insurance covers only selected vaccines, or  whose insurance caps vaccine coverage at a certain amount. Once that coverage amount is reached, the child is categorized as underinsured. Children whose insurance covers only certain vaccines are eligible for VFC vaccines not covered by their health insurance.

Children whose health insurance covers the cost of vaccinations are not eligible for VFC vaccines, even when a claim for the cost of the vaccine and its administration would be denied for payment by the insurance carrier because the plan's deductible has not been met.  While the vaccines are provided free of charge because they are purchased with federal tax dollars, doctors and clinics may charge an “administration fee” to help pay for their costs of doing business.

2013 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule

• Adult Schedule by Vaccine and Age Group
• Vaccinations for Adults Based on Medical and Other Indications
• Adult Contraindications and Precautions

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How to Become a Vaccines for Children (VFC) Provider

1. Complete the following forms online.  
2013 VFC Provider Enrollment and Profile Form (496k.pdf) 
OSIIS Authorization Request Form and Freezer Certification Form for Varicella (45k.pdf)
Note: You do not need to complete the Freezer Certification Form if you do not have a freezer that maintains temperatures below 5°F and is separate from or has a separate door located outside of the refrigerator compartment. If you do not have such a freezer you may not receive varicella vaccine through the VFC program. Varicella vaccine must be stored in a continuously frozen state at 5°F (-15°C) or colder.

2. Print the forms and make a copy for your records. 
Note: If you have any questions about completing the forms, call your local county health department and ask for your Immunization Field Consultant, or contact the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Immunization Service at 405-271-4073. 

3. Send the originals of the forms to:

Oklahoma State Department of Health - IMM Service
1000 NE 10th Street
Oklahoma City OK 73117

4. Begin recording your refrigerator and freezer temperatures. 
A temperature log is available here (260.6k.pdf). Refrigerator and freezer temperatures must be within the required range to store vaccines.

5. Complete the 2 VFC orientation visits. 
After your forms are received in our office, you will be contacted by a representative of the Immunization Service to schedule two orientation visits: 
a programmatic orientation and a clinical orientation. 
The orientation visits include a review of the requirements for participation in the VFC Program (see "Requirements for VFC Providers" below). 
Most of the requirements are procedures that all clinics providing vaccines already have in place.

6. Receive your first shipment of vaccine.
You will receive your first shipment of vaccine after the orientation visits are completed, and when documentation that your refrigerator and freezer temperatures are within the required temperature range for 5 days has been reviewed. 

Clinics enrolling in the VFC Program will receive a VFC Provider Resource Guide and regular visits by an Immunization Field Consultant.
For more information on the Vaccines for Children Program visit the VFC web site (exit to CDC web site) or call the Immunization Service at 800-234-6196 or (405) 271-4073.

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Oklahoma Vaccines For Children Program Provider Resource Guide 2012 Edition 

• Table of Contents (515k.pdf)
• Section 1 - VFC Program Description, Requirements, and Provider Agreement (685k.pdf)
• Section 2 - Storage and Handling

• Section 3 - Oklahoma State Immunization Information System User's Manual (2mb.pdf)
• Section 4 - Resources for Providers

Need help responding to vaccine-hesitant parents? and IAC's "Top 20" free handouts for healthcare professionals and patients (756k.pdf)
VFC Resources & Contact Information (254k.pdf)

• Section 5 - Resources for Nurses - Contents (274k.pdf)

Letters to VFC Providers from the Immunization Service

2011-12 ACIP Influenza Vaccine Recommendations  (282k.pdf) October 7, 2011 
2011 Childhood, Adolescent, & Adult Immunization Schedules (93k.pdf) September 2, 2011
Updated ACIP Recommendations for Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccines (126k.pdf) June 3, 2011 
Revised General Recommendations on Immunizations (47k.pdf) May 16, 2011
Updated Recommendations for Use of Tdap Vaccine (64k.pdf) March 25, 2011 
New Tdap Requirement for 7th Grade Students in Oklahoma (103k.pdf) March 16, 2011

Oklahoma Immunization Update
The Oklahoma Immunization Update provides the latest information on vaccine issues effecting the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, news about vaccines, short articles on clinical issues, schedule changes, and changes in the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. (ACIP). 

Past Issues of Oklahoma Immunization Updates

2013

January 2013 Oklahoma Immunization Update (64k.pdf)
February 2013 Oklahoma Immunization Update (85k.pdf)
March 2013 Oklahoma Immunization Update (63k.pdf)
April 2013 Oklahoma Immunization Update (78k.pdf)

2012

January 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (133k.pdf) 
February 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (108.k.pdf)
March 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (384k.pdf) 
April 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (98.7k.pdf)
May 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (47k.pdf)
June 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (47k.pdf)
July 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (46k.pdf)
August 2012 Immunization Update (48k.pdf)
September 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (117k.pdf)
October 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (145.5k.pdf)
November 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (65.4k.pdf)
December 2012 Oklahoma Immunization Update (202k.pdf)

For editions prior to 2012 contact the Immunization Service at (405) 271-4073

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