Vaccines For Children Program

What's New?
Oklahoma Vaccines For Children Program Provider Resource Guide 2009 Version

Oklahoma Immunization Updates provide the latest information on vaccine issues affecting the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program:Oklahoma Immunization Update May 2009

Hib vaccine shortage continues and is complicated by limited supply of monovalent Hepatitis B vaccine. Options for vaccinating with available vaccines are explained in: How to Determine What Vaccines to Give with Limited Hib and Hepatitis B Vaccines

What is the Vaccines for Children Program?

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.

Who is Eligible for the Vaccines for Children Program?

Children from birth through 18 years of age who meet at least one of the following criteria are eligible to receive VFC vaccine:

• Medicaid eligible: A child who is eligible for the Medicaid program (Soonercare in Oklahoma). (For the purposes of the VFC program, the terms "Medicaid-eligible" and "Medicaid-enrolled" are equivalent and refer to children who have health insurance covered by a state Medicaid program)
• Uninsured: A child who has no health insurance coverage
• American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Underinsured: A child who has commercial (private) health insurance but the coverage does not include vaccines, a child whose insurance covers only selected vaccines (VFC-eligible for non-covered vaccines only), or a child whose insurance caps vaccine coverage at a certain amount. Once that coverage amount is reached, the child is categorized as underinsured.

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 have already been paid for with federal tax dollars, doctors and clinics may charge an “administration fee” to help pay for their costs of doing business.

What Vaccines are Provided by the Vaccines for Children Program?

The Vaccines for Children Program provides vaccines to prevent the diseases listed below including combination vaccines:

Diphtheria

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) 
Hepatitis A 
Hepatitis B 
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 
Influenza (Flu) 
Measles 
Meningococcal disease
Mumps 
Pertussis (whooping cough) 
Pneumococcal disease

Poliomyelitis 

Rotavirus 

Rubella (German measles) 

Tetanus (lockjaw)
Varicella (chickenpox)

Over 750 clinics and doctor’s offices in Oklahoma participate in the Vaccines for Children Program, including all the county health departments and Indian Health Service and tribal clinics and many private doctors. To find a clinic or doctor near you that participates in the program call your county health department and ask for your Immunization Field Consultant.

If you are a doctor or clinic and would like to enroll in the Vaccines for Children Program, call the Immunization Service at (405) 271-4073 or send an e-mail to immunize@health.ok.gov.

For more information on the Vaccines for Children Program visit the VFC web site (exit to CDC web site).

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