AAP Voices Blog

I was working in a mobile vaccine clinic in southwest Houston when I saw a child come in for his routine, on-time vaccination. The majority of the children we see are uninsured and do not have a medical home, but when I read through this child’s chart, I realized that he not only had Medicaid but also a primary care pediatrician.

Puzzled, I walked over to my patient’s family car and spoke with his father. The father explained to me that although he does have insurance for the family, it does not cover all routine vaccinations. The pediatrician told him that the vaccines would cost over $600 out of pocket, which the family could not afford. So, I provided the vaccines and sent them on their way.

How was I able to vaccinate this child when his primary care doctor could not? Like all things related to health care delivery, the answer is long and complicated. The main reason is that my mobile clinic participates in the Vaccines for Children program, a federally funded program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that provides vaccines at no cost to children who otherwise might not be vaccinated because of inability to pay.

Many primary care pediatricians would like to participate in the program but cannot because of overhead costs like maintaining a separate refrigerator for the vaccines and the amount of uncompensated administrative and clinical time needed to administer the vaccines.

“The Strengthening the Vaccines for Children Program Act is a bipartisan bill that will … expand children’s access to vaccines.”

The Strengthening the Vaccines for Children Program Act is a bipartisan bill that will modernize this successful program to expand children’s access to vaccines. The bill extends eligibility for the Vaccines for Children program to children covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program, promotes vaccination within the pediatric medical home, gives states an increased federal match to cover these costs, and ensures Medicaid can pay appropriately for administration and counseling of modern, multicomponent vaccines.

All of these changes will allow children like the one I saw in the mobile clinic to receive VFC vaccines in their medical home.

The above story may seem like it had a happy ending: A child received needed vaccinations, but that is only part of the story. This child had fragmented care due to his primary care provider’s inability to provide free or low-cost vaccinations. While his family had the time and ability to seek out free vaccinations elsewhere, thousands of children across the nation are falling into a health care gap and are missing out on important shots to keep them safe.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, childhood immunization rates have fallen drastically. Routine vaccinations among children were down as much as 20%, the CDC reported this summer. As school and day care centers continue to re-open, this health care gap leaves children, families, and communities at risk for a secondary outbreak of an infectious disease.

One way you can help close this care gap for the children in your community, state, and nationwide is to reach out to your congressional representative and tell them that you support the Strengthening the Vaccines for Children Program Act.

If you are a member of the AAP, you can log into the advocacy center and edit a form letter to send to your representative. It only takes a few minutes and is a tangible way we can help future generations and bolster the safety of our patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.