vaccines

If you plan to travel outside the country, you may need immunizations to protect yourself against diseases that aren’t common in the United States.

Vermont is a universal state, where the state Immunization Program purchases vaccines from the CDC federal contract at no cost to providers, for use in all children and adults. In order to receive vaccines, a provider practice must enroll in the Vermont Child Vaccine Program (VCVP) and/or Vermont Adult Vaccine Program (VAVP) programs. Vaccines are funded by the federal Vaccines for Children program, fees assessed on health insurers who cover Vermont lives, and limited discretionary federal 317 funding.

Vaccination coverage, or the percent of people who have received particular vaccines, is measured at national, state and local levels.

This page provides you with the information you need to vaccinate with confidence.

Failure to store and handle vaccines properly can reduce vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate immune responses in patients and poor protection against disease. Patients lose confidence in vaccines and their providers when revaccination is necessary because the vaccine(s) they received may have been compromised (exposed to inappropriate conditions/temperatures or handled improperly). 

Very high immunization coverage is necessary to prevent the spread of many vaccine preventable diseases.

As an adult, it is important to stay up to date with vaccinations to reduce your risk of preventable illness.