As far as sticker price goes, the recommended vaccines for kids in the United States do not come cheap. The hepatitis-B shot, given within the first hours of life, can be purchased for about $30. The rotavirus vaccine costs $102 to $147 a dose. A full course of the vaccine that protects against pneumonia and meningitis runs about $1,000.

Virtually all children receive these shots for free. The federal government legally requires most insurance to cover the roughly 30 different shots for kids, without a co-pay. Kids who are on Medicaid or who don’t have insurance coverage can get free shots as well, thanks to a CDC program known as Vaccines for Children. Among public-health experts, VFC, as it’s commonly known, is widely seen as an unmitigated success. After the program was created in 1994

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