Wyoming Vaccine Program For Children Making Necessary Changes

Some changes are being made to Wyoming's Vaccine Program. Increased costs and a growing demand for Vaccines means that the Program has to make some much needed changes. The Wyoming Department of Health has released the latest information in regards to the changes being made in the Program.

The Wyoming Vaccinates Important People (WyVIP) program provides vaccines at no cost for Wyoming’s children through participating healthcare provider offices. While providers sometimes charge a small administrative fee (less than $15) for immunizations, the cost of the actual vaccines has been covered by a combination of state and federal funding.

Federal funding from the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program covers all required and recommended vaccines for children eligible for Medicaid, children who are uninsured, and American Indian or Alaska Native children. For other Wyoming children, vaccine funding is provided by the state.

“We will continue to provide free vaccine for all the immunizations required in Wyoming for school attendance,” Jan Bloom, Immunization Section chief with the Wyoming Department of Health said. “That is not changing.” Under Wyoming’s immunization rules, parents need to provide proof of required immunizations within the first 30 days after school begins.

After July 1, the WyVIP program will no longer use state funding to purchase hepatitis A, human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and meningococcal conjugate vaccines for children who do not qualify for the federal VFC program.

“Our state vaccine program has seen many changes since it began in 2006,” said Bloom. “We are seeing more babies born in Wyoming, which means more kids to immunize. The costs of certain vaccines, particularly combination vaccines, have gone up as they’ve been improved. New vaccines have been added to meet the recommendations of national experts. All of these things together have put pressure on our program’s budget.”

Dr. Tracy Murphy, acting state health officer and state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said “Wyoming, along with other states, has seen the public health benefits of widespread vaccinations. Diseases that used to be common in children, such as measles, are rare now.”

About 40 percent of Wyoming’s children are covered by federal VFC funding. Bloom noted, “For other children, most insurance plans should offer coverage of the recommended vaccines affected by the change. We believe the majority of children should be able to continue receiving each of these vaccines without a significant added financial burden on their families.”

More information can be found online from the Wyoming Department of Health at www.immunizewyoming.com.