Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved two COVID-19 vaccines earlier than expected due to record-breaking surges of the virus.
For the nearly 27 million adults who do not have health insurance, the new coronavirus vaccines will only be available for free until August 31.
That’s because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Bridge Access Program, which provided free coronavirus vaccines to uninsured adults, will end.
Over the last year, the program provided free vaccines for nearly 1.5 million people since it launched in September 2023.
The optics of last year’s vaccine roll-out was chaos, and not as many people received the vaccines as health officials hoped.
Only about 28% of Americans received updated shots last year, a decline from 69% when the first round of vaccines were released.
to increase uptake of vaccines, including for COVID.
“They have an updated vaccine formula, and that’s a good thing,” Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, told Salon.
If you’ve had a recent COVID-19 infection, officials recommend waiting two to three months to get the vaccine.
“We know the easier we make these vaccines, the more accessible these vaccines are, the more people will get them,” Jetelina said.
As a result of unprecedented viral spikes last week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized two COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of schedule. They’re available as early as this week, as opposed to being released in the fall as was the case with earlier coronavirus vaccine rollouts. Some individuals, though, are running out of time to receive the updated shots.
The new coronavirus vaccines will only be free until August 31 for the nearly 27 million adults without health insurance. This is due to the Bridge Access Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coming to an end. The program gave adults without insurance free coronavirus vaccinations. Since the program’s September 2023 launch, almost 1.5 million people have received free vaccinations over the past year. If you do not have insurance, the vaccination can cost up to $115.
Dr. Kelly Moore, president and CEO of Immunize . org, a nonprofit that seeks to raise vaccination rates and is supported by the CDC, told Salon that “uninsured adults are going to have more difficulty accessing the vaccines this fall.”. “That program has been terminated due to federal budget cuts, and there is not enough money available to buy the COVID vaccine and provide it to uninsured individuals.”. “.
Originally scheduled to end in December 2024, the program was intended to be only temporary. But as The Hill revealed in May, $4.3 billion in COVID-19 funding—some of which was being used for the program—was eliminated from the government funding bill for fiscal 2024. There may be a limited supply of free vaccines available for individuals without health insurance after August 31 of this year, according to local health departments. Congress has refused to approve the funding, despite the Biden administration’s 2025 advocacy for a more long-term fix.
The funds necessary to acquire the COVID vaccine and provide it to uninsured individuals are severely restricted. “.”.
“Our goal with the Bridge Access Program was to provide uninsured adults with affordable access to recommended vaccines as a safety net program, while also serving as a bridge to a more permanent solution,” Moore stated. But regrettably, it’s proven to be a bridge to nowhere. “.
Public health professionals will now have the responsibility of ensuring that more people receive vaccinations as the program comes to an end. Not as many people received the vaccinations as health officials had hoped, and the vaccine roll-out from the previous year had chaotic optics. Just 28% of Americans received the updated vaccines last year, compared to 69% who received the shots when the first round was made available.
“Risk Less” is a new campaign launched by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a CDC spokesperson who spoke with Salon. Make More. to boost vaccination uptake, particularly for COVID. Additionally, according to the public health agency, “we are providing additional resources to support access to COVID vaccines this fall and winter season in order to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including uninsured adults, farmworkers, tribal populations, and others).”. “.”.
The agency stated that “the 64 state and local public health departments will receive much of that support through their immunization programs.”.
This year’s two new vaccines are improved strains of Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccines, created especially to immunize individuals against KP. 2 strain, which has been primarily responsible for summertime infections. Related but distinct strains of KP have been around for a few weeks. along with KP. Third Point. 1 have recently been the ones most in charge of infections. Although the vaccines continue to provide cross-protection against these variants, this further suggests that the virus is constantly evolving and finding new ways to evade our defenses.
With a few exclusions, vaccinations are advised for all individuals six months of age and older. Officials advise delaying getting the vaccination for two to three months if you have recently contracted COVID-19. These two new vaccines only require a single dose for individuals five years of age and older, even if they have never received a coronavirus vaccination previously. Individuals under five years old may require more than one dose of a vaccine, contingent on their vaccination history and type of shot.
“As it’s highly likely that you’ve already had at least one infection with the coronavirus virus to prime your immune system, we’re no longer recommending multiple doses of vaccines for people who have never been vaccinated,” Moore stated. Your immune system simply needs to be reminded of and updated with the most recent vaccination because it is already familiar with this virus. “.
Those over 65, who are at a higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 infections, should prioritize getting the most recent vaccine, according to Moore. The country’s COVID-19 weekly mortality rate has been rising steadily since May, and the amount of viral activity in wastewater has also been rising, according to the CDC data tracker. The CDC states that the current national level is “very high.”. Positive news: starting at the end of September, the federal government will once again provide four free at-home COVID-19 tests to every household.
Moore stated she anticipates this year’s roll-out to be less chaotic than last year’s due to people possibly being suffering from “vaccine fatigue,” aside from the fact that access to vaccines will only be available to Americans without health insurance. “.
The introduction of a new RSV vaccine for the same demographic of older adults, 60 and over, caused “a lot of distraction, in a positive way,” according to Moore. Since the RSV vaccine is our best line of defense against COVID infection and the risk of long-term COVID, it’s unfortunate that there has been so much focus on it. I believe that people have simply grown weary of hearing about COVID. “.
According to Jetelina, it will be “interesting” to see if more people receive vaccinations this year, particularly in light of the HHS’s impending large-scale vaccination campaign that will concentrate on high-risk individuals.
Although she acknowledged that she wasn’t holding her breath, she questioned whether it would make a difference. “I don’t think many other things have changed since last year; people are still sick of hearing about COVID; there’s still a lot of contradicting information out there; and I don’t think many people’s perspectives can actually shift with the changing of the seasons. “.
Jetelina expressed concern regarding the expiration of the Bridge Access Program.
As stated by Jetelina, “We know that more people will receive these vaccines the easier and more accessible they are.”. They’re also pricey, particularly for those without insurance; the whole problem of access is very difficult. “.
