Children are eligible before their 19th birthday if any one of the following applies:

• Medicaid-eligible or enrolled
• Uninsured (no medical insurance coverage)
• Underinsured (your insurance doesn't cover any or all recommended vaccines, or all costs)
• American Indian or Alaskan Native

More people are now eligible for NC Medicaid.

The VFC program covers vaccines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This includes all vaccines required in NC for child care and school.

• CDC Recommended Vaccines by Age
• Vaccine Schedules for You and Your Family

Ask your health care provider if they are a VFC provider. Many North Carolina providers are part of the program.

Don't have a VFC provider? There are many ways to find a place to get free vaccines near you:

• Contact your local health department
• Find a federally qualified health center
• Reach out to a rural health center

Find vaccines for seasonal respiratory illnesses (flu, COVID-19, RSV)

All vaccines are free through the VFC program, saving you $100 or more on some vaccines.  Although you are saving a great deal of money by getting no cost vaccines, there can be other costs for the VFC visit. There are two kinds of fees your provider may charge:

• Administration fee: Providers can charge a fee to give each shot. However, VFC vaccines cannot be denied to an eligible child if the family cannot afford the fee.
• Office visit fee: There can be a fee for the office visit, unless it is an immunization-only visit. Providers must allow immunization-only visits for their patients.

VFC funds are allocated through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to CDC. After receiving the funds, CDC buys the vaccines at a discount and distributes them to enrolled VFC program providers through the North Carolina Immunization Program (NCIP). CDC gives operational funding to NCIP to implement and oversee the VFC program in North Carolina.

Learn more about the federal VFC program.