This week marked the anniversary of a year in which the World Health Organization considered COVID-19 to be a pandemic, which made both Americans and public health officials remember what we have learned, how far we have come and how much more we have to go. During a summit organized by The 19th, a non-profit news organization reporting on gender, politics and politics, Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, chairman of the White House’s Health Equity Task Force COVID-19, discussed where the country is now in the fight against COVID and what lies ahead. In the midst of the discussion, Walensky shared the day that she fears may be inevitable in the pandemic: when the cost of the COVID vaccine falls on Americans. Read on to find out what she said and what it might mean for you, and for more vaccine news, check out Dr. Fauci says that your COVID vaccine protects you for so long.
On the CDC website, the agency clearly states: “The federal government is providing the [COVID] free vaccine for all people living in the United States, regardless of their immigration status or health insurance. “
They warn that no one can be charged for the COVID vaccine, including “any administration, copayment or coinsurance fees”, and that providers cannot “deny vaccination to anyone who does not have health insurance coverage, is not insured or is out of business from the Web . “
However, they note, “COVID-19 vaccination providers may request appropriate reimbursement of the recipient’s plan or program (eg, private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid) for a vaccine administration fee.” For those who are uninsured, the Health Care and Resource Provider Assistance Fund is paying for vaccine costs. But, said Walensky, unfortunately, all of that can change.
For more information on what to expect from your injection, check This is what it means if you have no side effects from the vaccine, doctors say.
During the discussion with the moderator Shefali Luthra, health reporter for The 19th, Walensky pointed out that, by its very nature as a mutated seasonal respiratory virus, COVID-19 will continue to generate costs for a long time to come. “I worry about the day when the vaccine will no longer be free,” she said. “What about all those people? What if we need a third backup? What happens next? Who is going to pay that? ”Unfortunately, there are still no answers to these big questions.
Although initial vaccinations – two doses of Moderna and Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – are covered by the government, it is highly likely that you will need more vaccines against COVID. First, because of the new strains and mutations that have emerged since the vaccines were created, pharmaceutical companies are working on booster doses to combat these variants, as Walensky has alluded.
Second, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently told NBC News that COVID injections are likely to become an annual occurrence. “Every year, you need to get your flu shot,” said Bourla in late February. “It will be the same with COVID. In one year, you will have to get your annual injection for COVID to be protected.” And for more information on how to prepare for the injection, see Don’t do it the night before your vaccine appointment, experts say.
“I think this pandemic is going to change a lot the way we think about the cost of health, about access to health,” said Walensky. But she was sincere about the scale of the challenge and the lack of simple answers when calculating the cost of COVID. “I think I would be losing control if I started talking about exactly what health reform is like,” she told Luthra. “I think we need public health reform, I think we need a lot of things.”
There is also a clear public appetite for this. A ValuePenguin health survey in January 2021 estimated that nearly 3 in 10 Americans lost their health insurance coverage in 2020 and remained uninsured this year. Almost half of respondents – 47 percent – lost their health coverage when they were laid off or released from their jobs as a result of the pandemic. The survey also found that 42% of people without coverage said they had no money to pay premiums. The burden was falling more heavily on women, with 51% versus 34% of men saying they could pay for their policy. And for more COVID news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Experts also warned about the pressure that the cost of COVID’s long-haulers will affect the medical system, as patients suffering from post-viral diseases require complex, long-term care. According to a report published in The Guardian, “At least 10 percent of the people allegedly infected with COVID-19 developed the long-distance syndrome.” With the CDC estimating the total number of current cases at just over 29 million and growing, it is potentially at least 3 million people who are likely to need long-term care in the U.S. as a direct result of COVID.
“I think there are an extraordinary number of questions associated with how this pandemic will be paid, how the future of health will be paid, how the future of public health will be paid for,” said Walensky.
However, in her final remarks, she also expressed the opportunity that we have to learn from the mistakes of the past and to reinvent the system in a more efficient way. “Because we are a product of the fact that we have not invested in [public health]… I think all of these things will have to be on the table going forward, “she said. And to find out more about the latest news in the battle against COVID, check out Dr. Fauci says these are the symptoms of COVID that don’t go away.