Why getting a COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be more complicated this year

Do you get a COVVI-19 vaccine? This has become a complicated question for many people.

The answer may depend on your age, insurance coverage, health and healthcare professional who will give you a chance.

A seasonal vaccination process of the season once director has become confused this year due to new federal advice on which can get the shots. He raises questions on the question of whether pharmacists will provide the blows and if the insurers will cover them.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has new shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, but the approvals came with new warnings. And it is not yet clear how it will take place.

The shots have been approved for people who are 65 and over and those who are younger and have a state of health that makes them vulnerable to COVID-19 severe.

This includes people with asthma, cancer, heart or pulmonary problems, obesity, depression, stories of smoking or physical inactivity.

“A large proportion of people would be eligible for these vaccines even if they are not over 65 years old,” said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the infectious disease division of Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Until now, the United States – following directive independent experts who advise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – has recommended annual Vaccinations COVID -19 for every 6 months and more.

But the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismissed all the members of this advisory committee on vaccination practices earlier this year. The replacements he has selected have not yet made new recommendations.

Most Americans visit pharmacies to get their COVVI-19 vaccines, according to the CDC. It is not yet clear how easy it will be this fall, depending on where you live.

Nineteen states have laws or regulations which only allow pharmacists to administer the vaccines recommended by the ACIP, according to the American Pharmacist Association.

In these states, pharmacies may not be able to distribute gunshots even for people who correspond to the fertilized beach of the FDA until the committee makes its recommendation.

In addition, some pharmacists may be reluctant to give customers to customers who are not part of the FDA approval beach, said Brigid Groves, pharmacist and vice-president of the American Pharmacist Association.

For people aged 65 and over, FDA’s decision means that Medicare will cover the blows.

For everyone, the answer is still evolving. Check with your insurer or the employer who offers coverage.

Employers and insurers cover the complete shots invoice because they were recommended by the APIP.

Some may continue to do so. Walmart will cover the shots for employees and the Kaiser Permanent health system, which offers coverage to more than 12 million people, says that it will also continue to cover them.

They can save money for an insurer or an employer by preventing expensive medical care such as hospital stays.

Vaccines can prevent workers from getting sick and spread the virus to colleagues. Companies are also concerned about the affordability of health care, in particular for their less well -paid workers, said Beth Umland, director of health research and benefits for the consultant in social benefits Mercer.

The shots can cost $ 150 or more without insurance.

Insurers say they look more than the recommendation of this CDC committee when they decide the coverage. Some may also consider the opinions of groups of doctors such as the American Medical Association, which strongly encourages vaccinations.

In May, Kennedy – a long -standing leader in the anti -vaccine movement – announced that COVVI -19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

Since then, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have said that pregnant women should continue to get the shots – against what Kennedy has announced. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend them to all children from 6 months to 2 years old, another contradiction with Kennedy’s decision.

Contradictory advice like this have aroused many questions from patients on the advice they should follow, said Groves.

“There is just a lot of confusion there,” she said. “People think,” Why should I get it? “”

People who want shots generally are looking for them in the fall to prepare for a possible winter increase in cases.

Vaccinations are highly recommended for the elderly and those who have a state of health, said the sax, the doctor of Brigham and women.

Doctors and researchers say that most people have a certain immunity against previous infections of COVID-19 or vaccines. But an annual shot is always a good idea.

Built immunity means that your body will respond more quickly to an infection or vaccination than at the start of the pandemic, Andrew Pekosz, an expert in virus at Johns Hopkins University, said.

“This is one of the reasons why Covids have dropped: this immunity from the population is high,” he said. “But immunity by the population is not perfect, and it died over time.”

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The medical writer AP Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

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