On Aug. 10, 1993, The Vaccines for Children Program was established after passage of the U.S. Congress’ Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Federally-purchased vaccines under this program were made available to children from birth through 18 years of age who met one of the following requirements: Medicaid-enrolled, without health insurance, and American Indian or Alaskan native.

Also, children with health insurance that did not cover the costs of immunization were eligible to receive vaccines at a federally-qualified health center or a rural health clinic. All Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines received funding, which included new vaccines, new vaccine combinations, and revised recommendations for vaccine use.