Vaccines For Children Celebrates 30 Years
The 30th anniversary reception for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Vaccine for Children (VFC) program was a celebration of the program’s impact and a reminder that the work is not done.
The VFC program, designed to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases regardless of a parent or guardian’s ability to pay, has been a remarkable success. In the last 30 years, roughly 508 million illnesses have been prevented, and nearly 1.1 million lives saved. In 2023 alone, the VFC program shipped 69 million doses of vaccines to children across the country.
“Every time a vaccine has prevented the death of a child, we have another leader, we have another pop star, we have another Olympian, we have another immunization manager,” said Dr. Daskalakis.
On August 14, 2024, attendees from across the public health sector gathered at the David J Sencer CDC Museum to honor the anniversary of this program. Remarks were given by CDC’s Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) and Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of NCIRD’s Immunization Services Division (ISD), with introductory and closing remarks by Dr. Judy Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. The reception coincided with and brought many attendees from the annual National Immunization Conference, co-sponsored by CDC, the CDC Foundation and Taskforce for Global Health and which brought together local, state, federal and private-sector partners to explore science, policy, education and planning issues related to immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Throughout the evening, speakers emphasized the importance of the VFC program and the vital role that equity plays in protecting children through vaccines. “Access is the fundamental base of what builds successful vaccination programs,” Dr. Daskalakis said.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative impact on routine childhood immunization has eased in the last two years, much work remains to be done to keep children protected and avoid outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. “We know that there are parts of the country that don’t have the right amount of vaccines, and we need more VFC providers,” said Dr. Georgina Peacock. “There’s also been a loss of confidence in these lifesaving products.”
To address these ongoing gaps in access, trust and understanding, CDC’s Immunization Services Division has launched the Fostering Overall Community Understanding & Support (FOCUS) project. FOCUS strives to increase vaccination rates among Communities of Focus – close-knit communities that have had recent vaccine preventable diseases outbreaks, have consistently lower vaccination rates for one or more vaccines and have not increased vaccination coverage even with continued public health efforts. This 5-year project will place qualified community engagement coordinators in state and local health departments to work within communities to understand their priorities and concerns and develop specific strategies to promote vaccine access and confidence.
While we celebrate 30 years of expanding vaccine access for children and creating equity in health, we look towards future opportunities to strengthen our impact and save countless lives.
“We stand committed to work with all of you to continue to promote the Vaccines for Children program,” Dr. Peacock said at the reception. “We’ve had tons of success, and we have more to do.”
The CDC Foundation is actively seeking funding partners to support the FOCUS project’s vital work. Join us. To learn more, contact CDC Foundation Senior Advancement Officer Ian Hamilton at ihamilton@cdcfoundation.org.
