In line with the passing of Senate Bill 23-162 and 25.5-5-515 (3)(b) C.R.S., the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is starting a pilot program to enroll a limited number of pharmacies in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The VFC program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of their parent/guardian’s inability to pay. Pharmacies have not been a part of Colorado’s VFC program until now. There are over 781,387 children who are eligible to receive vaccination through the VFC program. CDPHE hopes the enrollment of pharmacies as VFC providers will increase access for the children served by this federal program.
Other goals of this program are to find out whether pharmacy VFC participation increases vaccine access and childhood immunization rates , as well as measure the impact on the use of other essential health care services such as well-child visits and other health screenings. This fact sheet shares more information about the pilot.
The pilot program is expected to run for at least one calendar year beginning in Fall 2023.