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Vaccines for Children
Program (VFC) |
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| ACIP
VFC Vaccine Resolutions |
Contents
of this page:
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, the Assistant
Secretary for Health, and the Director, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regarding
the most appropriate application of antigens
and related agents (e.g., vaccines, antisera,
immune globulins) for effective disease control
in the civilian population. The Committee consists
of twelve members, including the Chair, and
seven non-voting ex officio members: the Deputy
Director, Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation,
Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources
and Services Administration; the Deputy Director
for Scientific Activities, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Department
of Defense; Under Secretary for Health, Department
of Veterans Affairs; the Director, National
Center for Drugs and Biologics, Food and Drug
Administration; the Medical Advisor, Medicaid
Bureau, Health Care Financing Administration;
the Director, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Program, National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of
Health; and the Director, National Vaccine
Program Office, or their designees. Non-voting
liaison representatives to the Committee include
persons from the American Academy of Family
Physicians; the American Academy of Pediatrics;
the American Association of Health Plans; the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists;
the American College of Physicians; the American
Hospital Association; the American Medical
Association; the Association of Teachers of
Preventive Medicine; the Hospital Infection
Control Practices Advisory Committee, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention; the Infectious
Diseases Society of America; the National Medical
Association; and the Pharmaceutical Research
and Manufacturers of America.
The
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42
U.S.C. 1396s) conferred an operational role
on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(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 periodicity, dosage, 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.
At these meetings they may vote on the inclusion
of new vaccines into the VFC program or the
modification of existing resolutions. These
decisions are codified as VFC resolutions and
are considered separate 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 amounts is
established.
VFC resolutions
passed by the ACIP form the basis for VFC program
policies on vaccine availability and usage.
The National Immunization Program (NIP), 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. 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.)
Correspondence
to the ACIP should be directed to:
Dee Gardner
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
c/o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mailstop E-61
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
(404) 639-8096
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