Guidelines regarding the borrowing of influenza vaccine

Following are guidelines regarding the borrowing of influenza vaccine:

Providers cannot borrow state-supplied seasonal influenza vaccine for privately insured patients. Providers may use private stock seasonal influenza vaccine to vaccinate VFC eligible children if VFC seasonal influenza stock is not yet available. Those private stock doses used on VFC eligible children can later be replaced as VFC stock becomes available. Replacement must be made within 90 days unless clinic can justify delay.

No VFC eligible child should be turned away due to lack of VFC vaccine.  These children should receive private vaccine until VFC vaccine is available.

**Note: Providers are not permitted to replace privately purchased influenza vaccine administered on VFC eligible children with VFC vaccine (when VFC influenza vaccine is unavailable) if they bill Medical Assistance (MA) for the vaccine cost.

This one-direction borrowing exception is unique to seasonal influenza vaccine and is a requirement of the CDC.

The following must be documented for every borrowed vaccine a patient receives:

• Vaccine name
• Private dose(s) borrowed
• Reason vaccine was borrowed
• Patient’s name
• Patient’s date of birth
• Date vaccine was administered
• Date vaccine was paid back
• Provider signature verifying accuracy and compliance with VFC requirements

To properly manage inventory and track influenza dose borrowing, VFC providers MUST:

• Maintain an inventory for VFC eligible children and a separate inventory for privately insured children;
• Manage private stock inventory correctly in order to replace any borrowed vaccine. Providers need to be certain any vaccine given is accounted for accurately;
• Be sure not to borrow more private stock vaccine than was pre-booked through your VFC influenza order;
• Replace stock with the same product when borrowing from private stock. List of VFC supplied influenza vaccines is available on the PA Division of Immunizations website; and
• Replace borrowed vaccine dose for dose.