New White House plan aims to provide uninsured with free Covid-19 vaccines

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By Caolán Magee, CNN

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Wednesday, April 19

The Biden administration has unveiled a new $1.1 billion program aimed at providing Covid-19 vaccines and treatments to the uninsured free of charge once government distribution ends.

The allocated funds should support the program into December 2024, allaying fears that vulnerable Americans could be left without access to Covid-19 vaccines after the federal supply is exhausted.

The two-part initiative would utilize pharmacies, local health departments and federally-supported health centers to provide Covid-19 care, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House.

Americans can currently receive Covid-19 vaccines and certain treatments at no charge because the federal government purchased them for distribution to the public. But when that supply runs out, the products will shift to the commercial market after Congress refused to provide more funds to purchase additional supplies.

Under the new plans, the federal government will continue to subsidize pharmacies and manufacturers so that uninsured Americans can still receive access to vaccines at no cost.

This part of the program therefore calls for creating a public-private partnership with local and national pharmacies, which administer the majority of adult Covid-19 vaccinations. The federal government will provide a per-dose payment to the pharmacies to cover the cost of administering the vaccines and treatments.

However, it is still not clear how many pharmacies will choose to participate in the plans.

This is because the US Department of Health and Human Services will still have to establish contracts with the pharmacies over the next few months, with the aim of launching the program in the fall, according to the fact sheet.

Despite this, the US government expects pharmacies that have participated in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) "COVID-19 Test to Treat" program and other pandemic partnerships to join the effort.

Manufacturers are also expected to provide the vaccines to participating pharmacies under the program, which will be compensated through the drug companies' patient assistance programs.

Pharmacist Patricia Pernal administers the newest Covid-19 vaccine during a clinic for seniors at the Southwest Senior Center on September 9, 2022, in Chicago.
(Photo: E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images)

Moderna said in February that it would provide the vaccines at no cost to the uninsured through its patient assistance program. Pfizer has also pointed to its patient assistance program, which helps people without insurance get vaccines.

The companies did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment about participation in the new initiative.

Asked about whether the vaccine manufacturers have agreed to participate, a HHS spokesperson said the agency "has had very positive conversations" with them.

The second part of the new program leverages local health departments and federally supported health centers, which traditionally care for the uninsured. The CDC will purchase vaccines for distribution to the departments and centers, while the Health Resources and Services Administration will support the delivery of vaccines and treatments to its network of health centers.

The federal government said it expects to purchase the supplies at a discount as it does with similar existing immunization programs.

Just how many uninsured Americans will utilize the program is uncertain. Not that many people are getting vaccinated for Covid-19 these days, and the rate is lower among the uninsured, some data has found.

Allowing the uninsured to access the vaccines at no charge is important but so is educating them about the program, said Jen Kates, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

To make sure the uninsured are aware of it, the pharmacies will be expected to conduct outreach and work with community groups that focus on underserved populations.

IN OTHER NEWS

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended the terms of its emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccines to allow certain groups to get additional doses before this fall's vaccination campaigns. Adults aged 65 and older who have received a single dose of a bivalent vaccine may receive an additional dose at least four months after their first dose. For immunocompromised children aged 6 months through 4 years, eligibility for additional bivalent doses will depend on the vaccine previously received, the FDA said in a news release. The bivalent vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna carry instructions for fighting both the original strain of the Covid-19 virus as well as Omicron and its spinoffs.
About 100,000 registered nurses in the US left the workplace due to the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the results of a survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The same study also found that almost half of the nurses surveyed said they felt fatigued or burnt-out, while about 62% said their workload increased during the pandemic, and just over half said they felt emotionally drained at work. This exhaustion was a driving factor behind a strike in New York in January, when over 7,000 nurses took to the streets to call attention to staffing shortages and burnout. "We are sick and tired of the hospital only doing the bare minimum," said Danny Fuentes, a union official who spoke to the crowd during the strike. "Time and time again, we are forced to take unsafe patient loads. We are humans, and we are burnt-out. And we are tired."

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.

What are the current FDA recommendations for unvaccinated children?

According to the FDA, children aged 6 months through 5 years who have not yet been vaccinated may now receive a two-dose series of the Moderna bivalent vaccine as their primary series, or a three-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine if they are 6 months through 4 years of age. Children who are aged 5 may receive two doses of the Moderna bivalent or a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine.

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Correction: Last week's newsletter included an incorrect source for free Covid treatments and other Covid benefits from the federal government. Those allowances were provided under the public health emergency, which is scheduled to end on May 11, although providers and patients will still have access to free Covid treatments from the federal government after that date.