Overview

Information Regarding the Commercialization of COVID-19 Vaccines.

Please go to this website to sign up for COVID-19 Vaccine Training and stay up-to-date on the commercialization of COVID-19 vaccines.

Welcome to the Chicago VFC Health Alert Network (HAN) page!

This is your one-stop-shop for information, resources,
VFC policies, and frequently-requested paperwork.

Stay up to date: How to register for the HAN

VFC Eligibility Basics

Children 18 years old and younger are eligible for VFC vaccine if they are one or more of the following:

Medicaid eligible
Uninsured
American Indian or Alaska Native
Underinsured (i.e. health insurance doesn't cover immunization) - only at FQHC's and CDPH's walk-in clinics

How to use MEDI to determine VFC eligibility

How to Become a new VFC Provider
VFC Provider Agreement
VFC Provider Profile Form

2024 VFC Manual
The VFC Manual is a living document and any edits/additions will be made as needed.

VFC Program Annual Re-Enrollment

Know another provider interested in the VFC program?

Share this VFC recruitment flier with them!

Wanting to complete your annual re-enrollment requirement?

At the beginning of each year, VFC providers need to re-enroll.
For additional guidance on updating your yearly staff training please click here.
For additional guidance on updating your VFC appliances and data logger certification please click here (Attach VFC Appliance instructions)
At the beginning of each year, VFC providers need to re-enroll.
For Step by step guidance on how to complete the 2024 Re-enrollment please follow the PDF guidance attached here.

CHIP Vaccine Information

1

VFC Guidance for the CHIP Program

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to eligible children, through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. CHIP is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government.

2

Eligibility

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) serves uninsured children up to age 19 in families with incomes too high to qualify them for Medicaid. States have broad discretion in setting their income eligibility standards, and eligibility varies across states.

For more detailed information please click here.

3

Resources

VFC News Bulletins

The VFC News Bulletin is a monthly bulletin that provides healthcare providers with most current information regarding the Chicago Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program.

VFC News Bulletins

Explore current and past versions of the VFC News Bulletins here.

Documents and Media

Chicago VFC News Bulletin_07_21_22.pdf

Version 1.0 Approved

Document Type: Basic Document
Extension: pdf
Size: 303 KB
Modified: 2/27/24 12:44 PM by Deborah Anderson - Admin
Created: 7/22/22 12:30 PM by Deborah Anderson - Admin
Expiration Date: Never Expire
Review Date: Never Review
Location: 2022 VFC News Bulletins

Automatically Extracted Metadata

VFC Program

Digital Data Loggers (DDL's) and Cloud Services

DDL Information

DDL FAQ
Downloading VFC 400 Software
Introduction to VFC400 DDL's
VFC 400 Operations
VFC400 Configuration Settings
How to Locate Temperature Data Files
Recalibration instructions
Daily Temperature Logs
- Fahrenheit: Refrigerator / Freezer
- Celsius: Refrigerator / Freezer

VFC400 Cloud Information

VFC311 Digital Data Logger Installation and Usage

I-CARE Basics

I-CARE How-To Guides

I-CARE is Illinois' immunization registry - please input vaccinations for all your patients, not just those in the VFC program!

VFC Tools And Policies

Vaccine Management Tools

Emergency and Routine Vaccine Handling Protocol
Temperature Excursion Protocol
(consider printing and posting on your fridge or freezer)
Inventory Analysis Helper Report Guide
Three Steps to Achieve Inventory Accuracy - Provider Resource
Immunization Due Report Guide
Vaccine Ordering Cheat Sheet and Calculation Guide
Vaccine Ordering Template
Vaccine Return Form
Removing Expired Vaccines
Vaccine Return Process
Reporting COVID-19 Wastage in I-CARE

Vaccine Management Policies

Miscellaneous

Training

VFC & I-Care Training
- Our trainings are now virtual! Click here to register for our next training scheduled for October 16, 2024.
- Upcoming training in October
Webinar: Perspectives on Vaccine Hesitancy
MMR Reminder Recall Training
FLU/COVID Reminder Recall Training
ICAAP’s Learning Management System Account Creation Guide
ICAAP’s Learning Management System Course Logon Guide

Immunization Resources

COVID-19

Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines (CDC)

How-To's

How to report a communicable disease in your clinic (reporting flyer)
How to report vaccine adverse events (VAERS)

Day-To-Day Provider References

Interacting with Parents

For Your Clinic

Measles

More information on measles can be found here
Measles job aid
Measles isolation and testing recommendations

HL7 Onboarding, Migration, & Data Quality

As part of our public health effort, there is an ongoing focus on data and data quality so that we can make the most informed decisions for the communities we serve. As a result, IDPH & CDPH have collaborated to create a new data quality work group. Our mission is to ensure that we have the most accurate and up to date immunization records for all our Illinois residents. The preferred method of reporting your doses to the Immunization Information System (I-CARE) is via HL7 connection. HL7 is a set of international standards used to provide guidance with transferring and sharing data between various healthcare providers. Existing providers are encouraged to participate in our Data Quality Review to review the quality of data that their provider site is currently submitting. We highly encourage all our Chicago VFC and Bridge Access Program providers to participate in this program. You can start this process by clicking HERE!

If you are a new provider to our VFC or Bridge Access Program OR an existing provider and are migrating to a new EMR service, please click HERE to start the Onboarding Process. We have included links below to our Onboarding Guide and Readiness Checklist.

Onboarding Guide
Readiness Checklist
Bi-Directional
2 024-25 Respiratory Virus Season Vaccine Code

I-CARE Training Videos

I-CARE Login : How to log into I-CARE and get started
Patient Module : A comprehensive system for managing patient information related to immunization. It provides tools for adding new patients, searching for patient records, and updating patient information.
Shots - Add View Edit Delete : How to view, add, edit, and delete shots
Shots - Immunizations and Contraindications : How to add immunities, contraindications, and adverse events to a patient's profile
Shots - Overrides and Refusals : How to override a shot and what to do when a patient refuses a shot
I-CARE Training VFC Tab Overview : A brief overview of the processes and systems within the VFC tab: VFC, Vaccine Requests, Staff, and Enrollment.

How to edit Temperatures in I-CARE: How to add temperatures in I-CARE prior to ordering vaccine.
VFC Vaccine Ordering : How to order VFC Vaccines via the VFC tab in I-CARE
Bad Address Report : How to run a bad address report in I-CARE
Immunizations Due/Given Reports : How to run the immunizations due and immunizations given reports in I-CARE
COVID Immunizations Activity/Due Reports : How to run the COVID Immunization Activity report and COVID Immunizations Due report
Reminder Recall : How to remind patients who are due or overdue for a vaccination to make an appointment with your office
Patient Immunization History : How to access and understand a patient’s immunization history.
I-CARE: Vaccine Information Systems: How to update and download vaccine information sheets produced by the CDC
I-CARE: Quick Assist tab: How to navigate and use the Quick Assist tab for resources

Health Alert Network

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Vaccines for Children