Summer is on its way out, meaning we'll be ushering in cooler temperatures and welcoming pumpkin spice lattes. It also means that cold and flu season is inching closer. With this in mind, you might be looking into getting your flu vaccine and an updated COVID vaccine. But while the shots have typically been free for adults without health insurance and those whose insurance doesn't cover all the related costs, that's no longer the case. The free shots were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Bridge Access Program, which ended earlier than expected at the end of August.
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The program was eliminated due to federal funding cuts, ABC News reported. The timing also leaves a bit to be desired, as it coincides with the rollout of the new COVID vaccine formulations.
"The timing is really unfortunate, because we don't yet have the 2024-25 versions of the COVID shots generally available yet, so the Bridge program will end before those are available to uninsured individuals," Nathaniel Hupert, MD, MPH, internal medicine physician and researcher in public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, told ABC News.
Making things more complicated, the vaccines are particularly pricey when you have to pay out of pocket. Speaking with The Washington Post, 33-year-old Nicole Savantsaid she was quoted $201.99 when she went to get the vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in the St. Louis area. Savant previously lost her Medicaid benefits when her income rose, telling the WaPo that she doubts she'll get the vaccine if she ends up having to pay out of pocket.
According to the CDC price list, each dose of the Moderna vaccine is $141.80, while the Pfizer option is $136.75 per dose. This is an increase from last year when the price per dose was estimated to be between $110 and $130. And while the CDC has allocated $62 million in unused vaccine contract funding for states and local programs to buy COVID-19 vaccines, information on how that will be allocated is limited.
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"Since the COVID-19 vaccines were authorized in 2020, we have been proud to offer them for free to the residents without health insurance," Raynard Washington, PhD, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director, said in a press release. "But without the Bridge Access Program, we will not have the resources locally to purchase vaccines for all who are uninsured."
For those who do have insurance, the shots should still be covered, including if you're covered by Medicare and Medicaid, per ABC News. Experts say there is a larger discussion about forcing people to choose between paying for the vaccine or potentially putting their health at risk. But in general, the CDC still recommends vaccination for everyone ages 6 months and older.
"The COVID-19 vaccine helps protect you from severe disease, hospitalization, and death," the agency's website reads. "It is especially important to get your 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine if you are ages 65 and older, are at high risk for severe COVID-19, or have never received a COVID-19 vaccine."
