On March 9, 2023, the Biden Administration released the President’s FY 2024 budget. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget request for FY24 includes $11.581 billion in discretionary budget authority, Public Health Service evaluation funds, and the Affordable Care Act Prevention and Public Health Fund, which is $2.4 billion over the FY23 appropriation. This budget request will enable the Agency to invest in the core infrastructure of our country’s public health system.

 

The FY24 budget includes $1.256 billion, an increase of $337 million above FY23 enacted, in discretionary resources for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. This includes $999 million, an increase of $317 million for the discretionary Section 317 Immunization program, which includes $25 million to address and study post-COVID conditions and a $15 million increase as part of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative to enhance support in the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination efforts. Within the discretionary total, the FY24 budget also includes $251 million to enhance support for CDC’s influenza program, with a focus on vaccine effectiveness and development and increased surveillance infrastructure and capacity.

 

As well as investments in the discretionary Section 317 Immunization program, the budget proposes legislative changes to expand the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and to establish a new mandatory Vaccines for Adults (VFA) program. The budget includes an estimated $6 billion in mandatory resources for VFC under proposed law and an estimated $12 billion over 10 years in mandatory resources for the new VFA program under proposed law. The FY24 budget continues the President’s FY23 proposal to expand the program to include all children under age 19 enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and make program improvements by eliminating cost-sharing for eligible children. Legislation would have to be introduced and passed to accomplish this goal.  

 

The VFA program would be modeled on the successful VFC program and tailored to adults. The VFA program would provide funding for the purchase of ACIP-recommended vaccines for eligible adults, provider fees, and program operations. The goal is to reduce the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases by building an adult immunization program to support high vaccination coverage among all adults. Ultimately, the program aims to reduce vaccination coverage disparities, improve outbreak control of vaccine-preventable diseases, and enhance and maintain the infrastructure needed for responding to future pandemics. 

 

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