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VFC: The ACIP-VFC Vaccine Resolutions

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VFC Resolutions

About the ACIP

The ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) is a Federal Advisory Committee whose role is to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services, and the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regarding the most appropriate selection of vaccines and related agents for control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the civilian population of the United States.

The Committee comprises 15 voting members, including Chair; 8 ex officio members representing related federal agencies; and 30 non-voting representatives of liaison organizations with responsibility for implementation of immunization programs. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1396s) conferred an operational role on the ACIP  to establish a list of vaccines for administration to children eligible to receive vaccines through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, along with schedules regarding the appropriate dose, dosing interval and contraindications applicable to pediatric vaccines. The Secretary will use, for the purpose of the purchase, delivery, and administration of pediatric vaccines in the VFC program, the list established and periodically reviewed and, as appropriate, revised by the Committee.

The ACIP meets three times each year. These meetings are announced in notices published in the Federal Register. During meetings ACIP members may vote on inclusion of new vaccines in the VFC program or modification of existing resolutions. These decisions are codified as VFC resolutions and are considered separately from any other recommendations made by the ACIP. In most cases, a VFC resolution takes effect after a CDC contract for the purchase of that vaccine in the necessary quantity is established.

VFC resolutions passed by the ACIP form the basis for VFC program policies on vaccine availability and use. The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) communicate VFC resolutions to State Immunization and Medicaid programs for dissemination to providers at the local level. Vaccine procured through the VFC program must be administered according to the guidelines outlined by the ACIP in VFC resolutions. (VFC vaccine also may be administered in accordance with State school attendance laws.)

Correspondence to the ACIP Secretariat should be directed to:

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mailstop A-27
Atlanta, GA 30333
USA
Phone: 404-639-8836

Adding Vaccines to the VFC Program

VFC resolutions passed by the ACIP form the basis for VFC program policies on vaccine availability and usage.

They may not necessarily match the general usage recommendations of the ACIP, but rather represent the rules that providers must follow for administering each specific vaccine under the VFC program.

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, NCIRD/CDC, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) communicate VFC resolutions to State Immunization and Medicaid programs for dissemination to providers at the local level.

VFC vaccine must be administered according to the guidelines outlined by the ACIP in the VFC resolutions.  VFC vaccine may also be administered in accordance with State school attendance laws.

The ACIP issues resolutions by vaccine type following licensure and/or as recommendations for usage change. These consolidated resolutions are placed on the VFC website soon after ACIP approval.

Persons who wish to propose additions or modifications to VFC vaccine policy may contact the ACIP Secretariat at CDC or through the appropriate ACIP liaison.

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