Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been awarded a total of $3,023,728 to help provide free immunizations to eligible low-income children throughout our state.  This funding was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Immunization and Vaccines for Children Program (VFC).

“Vaccines are essential for protecting children from a variety of serious infections and diseases, and they are a vital tool for maintaining public health,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “We welcome this investment, which will help to ensure that all children throughout Maine have access to these important immunizations.”    

The VFC program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families.  The program protects individuals and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases through provision of federal funds and contracts to purchase and distribute vaccines, vaccine preventable disease surveillance, provider and public education, and evaluation.