Americans have started rolling up their sleeves for the latest version of the COVID-19 vaccine, but weeks into the rollout, some say they’re still having trouble finding appointments for themselves and their children.
People wanting a shot also say they are surprised by requests for upfront payments of $150 to $200 now that the U.S. government has turned over distribution, administration and payment coverage to private companies, including vaccine makers, pharmacies and insurance companies.
Many Americans were eager to get vaccinated after cases of COVID-19 were identified in much of the country in September.
About 4 million people received the updated Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna shots in September, and 12 million doses were shipped, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The US government has recommended that all Americans aged 6 months and older get one.
Kate MacDowell, a 50-year-old self-employed person living in Portland, Oregon, said her health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, canceled her vaccine appointment and she hasn’t been able to get another vaccine for almost a month. She and her husband canceled a trip abroad at the end of September, partly because they couldn’t find the vaccinations.
“It used to be that even if it was scarce, you could drive somewhere and get it,” MacDowell said. “Now the federal government or the provincial health department is saying you have to get your vaccine, and that’s just impossible.”
Kaiser did not comment on MacDowell’s experience in Oregon. The multistate health care provider, the target of a 3-day strike by 75,000 employees this week, said it will not cover out-of-network vaccinations except in California, where members can legally get COVID-19 vaccines reimbursed from non-networks until Nov. 11. Kaiser healthcare providers, including pharmacies.
The US government ended the COVID public health emergency in May. During this period, the government purchased the vaccines and provided them for free to all Americans.
In the current privatized system, health insurance companies must legally reimburse the injections for free. Pharmacies and health care providers pre-order the injections from the manufacturers and obtain their supplies from distributors.
Pfizer and Moderna say they have shipped the shots as planned.
Early last week, Pfizer said it had shipped and delivered more than 10 million doses of its 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 1 million pediatric doses. Moderna has also said it has shipped millions of doses.
CVS, the largest pharmacy chain in the US, said on Thursday it was still experiencing delivery delays from its wholesalers.
Walmart said it is offering updated COVID shots at all stores as supplies become available. Walgreens, part of Walgreens Boots Alliance, said all stores now have enough inventory to meet demand in their area.
McKesson, one of the largest wholesalers in the U.S., said it has distributed more than 3.8 million shots to date. McKesson acknowledged that the entire supply chain had to be ramped up and said this may have impacted delivery dates for some customers.
“We are working hard to turn COVID-19 inventory as quickly as possible as we receive it and are expanding our order processing daily,” a spokesperson said.
Cardinal Health, another major distributor, said it has also shipped several million COVID-19 vaccines “with some minor and short-term shipping delays.”
PHARMACIES ALSO PAY IN ADVANCE
After widespread reports of payment denials early in the campaign, health plan executives met with government officials on September 27 and said the plans will cover vaccines given by in-network providers.
“Health insurance providers continue to inform Americans about where and how they can get their COVID vaccines within the coverage of their plans,” said David Allen, a spokesman for the insurance lobby group AHIP.
Still, some people told Reuters that at pharmacies where they previously received COVID vaccines, they were told that the new vaccines at that location are not covered by their plan.
Independent pharmacists face a different problem. Now that the government is no longer footing the bill for their vaccine supply, pharmacists must pay for the vaccinations themselves.
“I was hesitant to immediately order as much as I knew I would need because they also had some restrictions on their return policy,” said David Kohll of Kohll’s Pharmacy, which has six locations in Nebraska. “That’s why I had to loosen the reins a bit.”
An HHS spokesperson said the department “has been deeply involved in these issues, even as we transitioned to the commercial marketplace.”
Some people told Reuters that their insurers instructed them to pay upfront and seek reimbursement when their pharmacies requested payment.
James Daily, a 43-year-old software developer from Readington, New Jersey, paid nearly $600 last month for shots for himself, his wife and his eldest daughter, and said he had trouble getting an appointment for his 4-year-old daughter.
Regulations for administering vaccines to young children vary by state.
Dr. Suzanne Berman, a pediatrician in Crossville, Tenn., said she worried about losing money.
“Demand has really dropped, so I don’t want to buy a lot of product that goes to waste,” she said. “If it expires or goes bad, I’ve lost money without getting anything in return.”
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