Vaccine Assistance Act (Section 317)

How It Works

Section 317 is a discretionary federal program distributed to the states to provide money for vaccine purchase and to develop vaccine infrastructure. While most of the 317 funds for vaccine purchase are used for childhood vaccines, some funds are used to promote adult vaccination programs. Vaccines purchased with Section 317 funds are generally administered in public health clinics, unless the money is used to expand Vaccines for Children (VFC) programs. Funding from Section 317 can also be used for outreach, surveillance, and control of outbreaks of disease.

As a discretionary program, Section 317 is subject to the yearly appropriations process and is a less stable form of federal vaccine coverage than VFC.

History

The Vaccine Assistance Act, or Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act, was enacted in 1962. It was initially designed to purchase polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and measles (added in 1965). As more vaccines have become available, the program has been used to purchase all Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines.

Policy Update

Due to the rise in cost of vaccines and new recommendations, the ability of Section 317 funds to purchase the cost of fully vaccinating children has declined from 747,000 children in 1999 to 213,235 children in 2008. All states (100%) have reported difficulty in meeting their vaccine needs because of a lack of Section 317 funds. Advocates worked to increase appropriations for Section 317 during the fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) appropriations process but were unsuccessful. During the FY2009 appropriations process, advocates will work to increase Section 317 funding.

Links

References

  • Association of Immunization Managers. “Principles on Section 317 Vaccine Purchase Funding Allocation.” 2006. http://www.immunizationmanagers.org/pdfs/Funding_Allocation.pdf [pdf] Accessed February 17, 2009.
  • Gerbeding, Julie. Centers for Disease Control: Report to Congress on 317 Immunization Program, April 2007.
  • Institute of Medicine. Financing Vaccines in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2004
  • Lee, Grace. Gaps in Financing for Underinsured Children in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 298, No. 6, August 8, 2007
  • Rein, DB. Impact of the CDC’s Section 317 Immunization Grants Program funding on childhood vaccination coverage Am J Public Health. 2006 Sep;96(9):1548-53.
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Immunization Grant Program (Section 317) Program In Brief, February 2007