Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The National Immunization Program (NIP) is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, located in Atlanta, Georgia. As a disease-prevention program, NIP provides leadership for the planning, coordination and conduct of immunization activities nationwide.

In carrying out its mission, NIP:

  • Provides consultation, training, statistical, promotional, educational, epidemiological and technical services to assist health departments in planning, developing and implementing immunization programs.
  • Supports the establishment of vaccine supply contracts for vaccine distribution to state and local immunization programs.
  • Assists health departments in developing vaccine information management systems to:
    • Facilitate identification of children who need vaccinations
    • Help parents and providers ensure that all children are immunized at the appropriate age
    • Assess vaccination levels in state and local areas
    • Monitor the safety and efficacy of vaccines by linking vaccine administration information with adverse event reporting and disease outbreak patterns
  • Administers research and operational programs for the prevention and control of vaccine-preventable diseases.
  • Supports a nationwide framework for effective surveillance of designated diseases for which effective immunizing agents are available.
  • Supervises state and local assignees working on immunization activities.

Visit the CDC webpage.

Each year, the CDC updates, revises and publishes new immunization schedules. The most up to date childhood, adolescent, adult and catch up schedules can be viewed through the CDC.

Monitoring health problems after vaccination is essential to ensure the United States continues to have the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. CDC’s Immunization Safety Office identifies possible vaccine side effects and conducts studies to determine whether a health problem is caused by a specific vaccine. Visit the CDC Vaccine Safety website.