The National Immunization Program
The mission of the National Immunization Program (NIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to prevent disease, disability, and death from vaccine-preventable disease in children and adults. The NIP collaborates within the CDC and other government agencies to improve vaccines and to ensure their safety. It is focusing its efforts in three areas: childhood immunizations ( its major emphases), adult immunization, and polio eradication.The Childhood Immunization Initiative (CII) was launched in response to the need to protect young children from vaccine preventable diseases. The CII is a comprehensive effort to:
In October 1994, CII initiated the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program to increase the number of children reached with free vaccine and to allow more parents to receive free vaccine for their children at the office of their primary provider. As of November 1995, all States were providing vaccine to public providers, and all but five States were distributing VFC vaccine to private providers. During FY 1995, the VFC program was expanded to include the varicella-vaccine (for chicken pox), hepatitis A vaccine for high-risk children.
- Reduce diseases preventable by childhood vaccination to zero;
- Increase vaccination levels for 2-year olds by 1996 to at least 90% for the initial and most critical doses of the vaccine series;
- Establish a sustainable system by the year 2000 to ensure that at least 90% of all 2-year-olds receive the full series of vaccines.
Another area of emphasis for the CII is to increase community participation, education, and partnerships. The CII is also focusing on improving systems to monitor disease and vaccinations and systems to improve vaccine and vaccine use.