New York State Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program

The New York State Vaccines for Children (NYS VFC) Program is a federally-funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to eligible children. The vaccines are distributed to private physicians' offices and public health clinics enrolled as VFC providers. VFC providers administer the vaccines to VFC-eligible children. VFC providers may also obtain other publicly-funded vaccines to serve children eligible under other criteria.

Phone: 1-800-543-7468.
Email: nyvfc@health.ny.gov
Fax: (518) 449-6912

Childhood Vaccines

Publicly-funded childhood vaccines include

  • Federal VFC vaccine,
  • New York State-funded vaccine, and
  • The New York State Child Health Plus (CHP) children's health insurance plan-funded vaccine.

Who is eligible to receive VFC and other publicly-funded vaccine?

A child is eligible for VFC vaccine if he or she is younger than 19 years of age and meets at least one of the following criteria:

  • Medicaid-enrolled (includes both fee-for-service and managed care)
  • Uninsured
  • Underinsured
    • A child who has commercial 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 or number of visits (VFC-eligible once that cap is exceeded). Underinsured children are eligible to receive VFC vaccine only through a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). New York State allows private providers to vaccinate underinsured children using state-funded vaccine.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native

A child is eligible for other publicly-funded vaccines if he or she is younger than 19 years of age and meets one of the following criteria:

  • Enrolled in the New York State Child Health Plus (CHP) insurance program.
  • Underinsured and vaccinated at a provider other than an FQHC.

Program Benefits

Participation in the VFC Program:

  • Reduces vaccine cost as a barrier to vaccinating VFC-eligible children at the right time with the right vaccine.
  • Eliminates the need to refer children to public clinics, thereby allowing them to receive services in their medical homes.
  • Increases immunization rates because health care providers are able to offer vaccine to eligible patients who might not be able to afford them.