# Vaccine inventory VFC software that keeps federal doses, private doses and the cold chain on one record

> Vaccine inventory VFC is the stock control a clinic runs when part of its fridge belongs to the Vaccines for Children program: federally purchased doses that may only go to eligible children, held separately from privately purchased stock. The program is an entitlement written into 42 U.S.C. 1396s, and the storage rules are the CDC toolkit: 2 to 8 degrees Celsius in the refrigerator, temperatures recorded at least twice each workday, logs kept 3 years. Neurobird keeps both inventories and the cold chain on one record.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/vaccineinventory/
- Product: Neurobird Vaccine Inventory VFC Document Automation Platform
- Niche: vaccine inventory VFC
- Buyer: VFC enrolled clinics and health departments
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-21

## What Neurobird Vaccine Inventory VFC does

- Hold federal and private stock as separate ledgers against the same physical fridge
- Capture the eligibility decision at the visit and tie it to the dose that was given
- Track lot, expiry and quantity on hand so short dated stock is used before it is wasted
- Keep vaccine cold chain logs and excursion investigations attached to the doses they affect

## How it works

1. **Every lot is a record** Vaccine, funding source, lot, expiry, storage unit and quantity on hand, held from receipt through administration or return.
2. **Eligibility travels with the dose** The screening outcome recorded at the visit is stored on the administration event, so the federal ledger only moves when an eligible child was vaccinated.
3. **The cold chain is evidence** Twice daily readings, excursion events and the calibration status of each device sit against the storage unit, so an investigation names the exact doses at risk.

## From the source material

> Providers who are enrolled in the VFC program must be willing to comply with all VFC program requirements, including but not limited to: Performing patient eligibility screenings and documenting patient eligibility at each immunization visit.

Source: Indiana Department of Health, Vaccines for Children, https://www.in.gov/health/immunization/vaccines-for-children/

## Industry context

- **2 to 8** Storage units must maintain 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which is 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, for refrigerated vaccine, and minus 50 to minus 15 degrees Celsius for frozen vaccine, at all times. (source: CDC, vaccine storage and handling toolkit, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/downloads/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf)
- **3 years** CDC advises keeping temperature logs for 3 years so trends and recurring problems can be seen, which means the paper record outlives most of the vaccine it describes. (source: CDC, vaccine storage and handling toolkit, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/downloads/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf)
- **2 workday readings** Storage unit temperatures should be checked and recorded at least twice daily, at the start and the end of the workday, in addition to continuous monitoring by a digital data logger. (source: CDC, vaccine storage and handling toolkit, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/downloads/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf)
- **2 to 3 years** Calibration testing of temperature monitoring devices should be performed every 2 to 3 years, or on the manufacturer's schedule, so the device that proves your cold chain is itself in date. (source: CDC, vaccine storage and handling toolkit, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/downloads/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf)
- **1396s** The statute names four federally vaccine eligible groups: Medicaid eligible children, uninsured children, uninsured children vaccinated at a federally qualified health centre or rural health clinic, and children who are Indian. (source: govinfo, 42 U.S.C. 1396s, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title42/html/USCODE-2023-title42-chap7-subchapXIX-sec1396s.htm)
- **1994** The program has provided vaccine to states without charge since 1 October 1994, and a registered provider may not deny a dose to an eligible child because the family cannot pay the administration fee. (source: govinfo, 42 U.S.C. 1396s, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title42/html/USCODE-2023-title42-chap7-subchapXIX-sec1396s.htm)

## Pricing

- Single clinic: $180 per site, per month
- Immunisation program: $390 per site, per month
- Health department: $780 per site, per month

## Questions

### What is the Vaccines for Children program?

It is a federal entitlement, written into 42 U.S.C. 1396s, that buys childhood vaccine and supplies it to enrolled providers without charge for administration to eligible children. In return the provider agrees to screen eligibility, store the vaccine properly, keep records and account for every dose.

### What are the VFC storage requirements?

They come from the CDC vaccine storage and handling toolkit. Refrigerated vaccine is held at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and frozen vaccine at minus 50 to minus 15 degrees Celsius, every unit has a temperature monitoring device, readings are taken and recorded at least twice each workday, and logs are kept for 3 years.

### Does this replace the immunisation registry?

No. Doses administered still flow to your state registry and the clinical record still lives in the EHR. What lives here is the stock: lot, expiry, funding source, storage unit and the eligibility decision behind each federal dose.

### How does it keep federal and private stock apart?

By treating them as two ledgers over one physical unit. A dose leaves the federal ledger only when the recorded eligibility screening says the child qualified, so borrowing shows up as an event rather than as a discrepancy months later.

### What happens after a temperature excursion?

The affected storage unit, the time range and the doses held in it are already linked, so the investigation names exactly which lots are in question and holds the manufacturer guidance and the outcome against them.

### Can it handle transfers between sites?

Yes. Transfers, borrowing and returns are dose level movements with a source and a destination, which is what a program review asks to see when the counts do not match.

## Sources

- [CDC, vaccine storage and handling toolkit](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/downloads/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf)
- [CDC, vaccine storage and handling](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/storage-handling/index.html)
- [42 U.S.C. 1396s, the VFC statute](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title42/html/USCODE-2023-title42-chap7-subchapXIX-sec1396s.htm)
- [CDC, VFC operations guidance](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-for-children/hcp/operating-guidance/index.html)
- [Indiana Department of Health, Vaccines for Children](https://www.in.gov/health/immunization/vaccines-for-children/)
- [New York State DOH, VFC storage and handling](https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/vaccines_for_children/storage_and_handling.htm)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/