The California VFC Program offers a choice of vaccine brands and presentations (e.g., single-dose vials or manufacturer-filled, single-dose syringes). Selection is at the discretion of providers. However, only one brand within the same vaccine family may be ordered to prevent administration errors. VFC guidance helps plan for the impact changing brands can have on ordering, storage, administration, and documentation.
Routine Vaccines
- VFC providers must maintain an adequate supply of vaccines for all age-appropriate, ACIP-recommended vaccines for their patient population—excluding influenza, which is allocated separately.
- Place orders at myCAvax and time to ensure sufficient inventory is on hand during order processing.
- Use the VFC Vaccine Ordering Worksheet to estimate order quantities and factor in enough extra doses to ensure practices don’t run out of vaccines while orders are being processed.
- Practices must submit orders according to their assigned order frequency, which is based on the number of VFC-supplied doses received per year (see myCAvax under the Program Location).
Influenza Vaccines
Unlike routine pediatric vaccines, influenza vaccine is allocated separately. See VFC Influenza Vaccine for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will it take to receive my order after I submit it?
Allow four weeks for your order to be processed and delivered, although you will often receive it within two weeks. You should, however, always maintain a four-week supply of vaccine in case processing and delivery takes the entire four weeks.
During peak ordering periods, such as “back-to-school”, flu season, and during the launch of a new vaccine, VFC receives a higher than usual volume of vaccine requests. Although orders are processed as efficiently as possible during these periods, it may take up to four weeks for vaccine orders to be processed and delivered.
How do I find out the status of my order?
A. For order status call VFC Customer Service at 1-877-2GET-VFC (877-243-8832). Please have your six digit VFC PIN number at hand when you call VFC or visit eziz.org to access weekly order processing updates.
How often can I order?
Your ordering period will range from one to three months, depending on the size of your practice. VFC determines order frequency (how often you are permitted to order) by the total number of vaccine doses your practice receives annually. You can view your assigned order frequency by logging into your account at https://eziz.org/myvfcvaccines/.
- High volume providers receive more than 2,000 doses of vaccines per year, may submit a vaccine request every month, and may order up to 12 times per year.
- Medium volume providers receive 500-2,000 doses of vaccines per year, may submit a vaccine request every 2 months, and may order up to 6 times per year.
- Low volume providers receive fewer than 500 doses of vaccines per year, may submit a vaccine request every 3 months, and may order up to 4 times per year.
For information about your ordering period and frequency, call VFC Customer Service at 1-877-2GET-VFC (877-243-8832). Please have your six digit VFC PIN number at hand when you call.
How do I find out if VFC received my order?
An email confirmation is immediately sent to the Vaccine and Backup Vaccine Coordinator after an order is submitted. If you did not receive an email, please call VFC Customer Service at 1-877-2GET-VFC (877-243-8832) to speak with a representative.
What should I do if VFC denies my order back to me?
Do not ignore it! Your order was denied because it needs to be corrected before VFC can approve it. VFC will not approve your request until the problems have been corrected. Most orders are returned because of missing or incomplete information, discrepancies with reported administered doses or inventory on hand, or inappropriate vaccine requests. The order will be deleted if the required information is not corrected and resubmitted within 14 days.
If you need additional assistance, call VFC Customer Service at 1-877-2GET-VFC (877-243-8832) to speak with a representative.
I forgot to order a vaccine on my most recent vaccine order. Can I order it after placing a routine order?
Please note that VFC discourages supplemental orders. If you need to order more vaccines, complete the required information (doses administered and inventory on hand) for that vaccine on a new order and write “Supplemental” in the comments box on the bottom of the order. Do not repeat information you already provided about other vaccines from your previous order. Please note, if your last approved order was more than one month prior, you must report inventory for all vaccines.
I am out of vaccine and need more immediately. What should I do?
If you unexpectedly need more vaccine, call VFC Customer Service at 1-877-2GET-VFC (877-243-8832) and say that you will be submitting a supplemental vaccine order. Tracking your vaccines usage closely, however, will help to prevent this situation.
If you think you will need more vaccine than usual for a certain order period, e.g., flu season, or “back-to-school,” try to anticipate the quantities you will need and order accordingly.
How do I order flu vaccine?
A separate electronic Influenza Vaccine Order Form is updated annually for the current year’s flu vaccines. Once flu vaccine is available, a separate Flu Ordering page will be available in each Provider’s MyVFCVaccines account. Simply log in to your account, click on the flu order button, and submit your flu order by providing vaccine usage, inventory, and requests.
Does VFC provide single-antigen measles, mumps and rubella?
No, VFC does not supply single-antigen measles, mumps, or rubella vaccine.
Additional Resources