A Covid vaccine rollout unlike any other has given rise to confusion over who’s eligible and concerns that the shots might be harder to obtain this fall — especially for young children.
Unlike in past years, when the vaccines were approved and recommended for everyone 6 months and older, the Food and Drug Administration this summer approved updated Covid shots only for people 65 and older and those with medical conditions that put them at risk of severe illness. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it recommends Covid shots for the same groups, based on people’s own decision-making or conversations with their doctors.
The change has created hurdles for people who want the shots but don’t obviously fit into either category — especially parents who want their infants or toddlers vaccinated. But for the most part, it hasn’t prevented adults from getting vaccinated.
Younger adults must now attest either online or in person at pharmacies that they have health conditions that qualify them for the vaccine. The CDC’s list of conditions is broad — it includes pregnancy, physical inactivity, being overweight, mental health conditions and a history of smoking. So many adults seeking shots say it’s easy to find something that describes them or to stretch the truth without pushback.
CVS’ and Walgreens’ websites simply prompt people to confirm that they’re eligible before they book appointments and offer an option to learn more about the CDC’s list of risk factors. A prescription isn’t required.
Bobby McClanahan, 37, of Columbus, Ohio, said he signed up for a vaccination appointment on the CVS website about two weeks ago even though he didn’t think he had any underlying conditions that would put him at risk of severe Covid. If necessary, he was prepared to say he had asthma, even though he doesn’t.
But the website didn’t ask for specifics — he merely agreed to the terms and conditions and was able to get vaccinated.
The pharmacist was enthusiastic that he was there, McClanahan said: “She just told me to encourage people to come in and get a vaccine booster.”
Dr. Michelle Fiscus, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at the Association of Immunization Managers, said that per the CDC criteria, “the majority of Americans would actually qualify to get a Covid-19 vaccine.”
Insurance plans — including private plans, Medicare and Medicaid — still largely cover Covid shots. McClanahan said he had no trouble getting his provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield, to do so.
“I’m walking out of CVS and I opened my Blue Cross Blue Shield app on my phone and the claim was already there, showing that I owed nothing,” he said.
However, vaccinating infants and toddlers is proving more challenging, since their shots are typically administered in doctors’ offices, which have less consistent supplies than pharmacies. Walgreens offers Covid vaccinations only for kids ages 3 and up, and CVS’ minimum age is 5 years. (Some states, such as Kansas and Illinois, have even higher age requirements.)
Several pediatricians told NBC News that they are still vaccinating healthy children because of the CDC language that allows for shared decision-making between doctors and patients. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend Covid vaccinations for all babies ages 6 to 23 months, along with older kids who are at high risk of severe disease or haven’t had Covid shots before. (Parents can choose to get healthy children boosters this year if they desire, according to the AAP.)
“I really agree with the AAP language, saying that anybody that wants a Covid vaccine for their child should be able to get one,” said Dr. Alexandra Yonts, an attending physician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Samantha Cramer, the mother of a 2-year-old in Kissimmee, Florida, said she went on a wild goose chase to find a vaccination for her daughter, Alice.
Pharmacies weren’t an option, and the family’s pediatrician didn’t have the specialized refrigeration to store the shots, Cramer said. Calls to her local health clinic and a major hospital system in the area revealed neither were offering Covid shots to toddlers.
Cramer and her husband considered traveling to Georgia to get Alice vaccinated.
“We were just like, ‘Do you want to take a trip up to a state that’s chill about this? Do we need to go out of state to get her vaccinated?’” she said.
In a last-ditch effort, Cramer asked for advice on Reddit. A user recommended MinuteClinics — health clinics inside CVS pharmacies that vaccinate kids ages 18 months and up.
Cramer tried three locations: One wasn’t accepting walk-ins, and another said the pediatric vaccine was out of stock, but Alice was finally vaccinated at the third.
“The choice to not vaccinate is infinitesimally easier now than it is to vaccinate,” Cramer said.
The reason some pediatric hospitals don’t have updated Covid vaccines available yet is that they waited for the CDC’s final recommendations before they ordered them. The agency took two weeks to formally adopt the guidance determined by its vaccine advisory committee. (Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the panel’s previous 17 members in June and subsequently appointed 12 new members, many of whom have expressed skepticism about Covid vaccines.)
The final CDC guidance paved the way for shots to be distributed through the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides free shots for uninsured or underinsured kids.
Nemours Children’s Health — a pediatric hospital network with locations in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida — was one of the health systems that delayed its Covid vaccine rollout until the CDC recommendation came out. Dr. Matthew Davis, Nemours’ enterprise physician-in-chief, said the network should receive doses soon.
“I’m confident that parents and guardians who want to vaccinate their kids against Covid-19 will be able to do so,” he said. “There are some additional steps in terms of counseling around shared decision-making and documentation, but those steps shouldn’t be a full barrier to kids getting vaccinated when their parents and guardians make the choice to do so.”
The post How people are finding ways to get Covid shots despite eligibility limits appeared first on NBC News.
