CPT code 90473: Vaccine administration, first oral or intranasal vaccine2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $17.37 for 90473 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $15.61–$22.86.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 90473 covers

90473 reports the administration service for the first vaccine delivered by mouth or into the nose during the encounter. Examples include an oral rotavirus vaccine or an intranasal influenza vaccine. The vaccine product is coded separately. Nursing staff commonly administer these vaccines in a physician office or clinic, with the service reported by the practice responsible for the administration.

Select this code by route and order: it is for the first oral or intranasal vaccine, not an injectable vaccine or a count of vaccine components. Use 90474 for each additional oral or intranasal vaccine given at the same encounter. Documentation should identify the vaccine administered, its route, and the administration performed. CMS assigns physician work, practice-expense, and malpractice values to this service in the physician fee schedule; the vaccine product is a separate item from the administration service.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 90473 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

90473 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 90473 rate is calculated

Each of 90473’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 90473

90473 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

90473 compared with similar codes

How to choose

90474Vaccine administrationAdditional oral or nasal vaccine

90473 is for the first oral or intranasal vaccine in the applicable sequence; 90474 reports each additional vaccine by either of those routes.

90471Immunization administrationFirst injectable vaccine

90471 is for the first vaccine administered by a route other than oral or intranasal. Choose 90473 when the first vaccine is given by mouth or nose.

90460Vaccine administrationFirst or only vaccine component

90460 applies to vaccine administration for patients through age 18 when the required face-to-face physician or qualified health care professional counseling is provided; 90473 is the route-specific administration code without that counseling distinction.

Codes related to 90473

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates