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In recent days, residents of Virginia and other states began to need a prescription from their primary care provider in order to get a COVID vaccine, a change prompted by shifting federal requirements. An order the Virginia Department of Health issued Wednesday now makes it easier for eligible Virginians to get vaccines in the weeks ahead.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently ended broad emergency authorizations for COVID vaccines that have been in place since vaccines first rolled out for the global pandemic. Under that new federal rule, health care providers and pharmacists could no longer freely offer COVID shots to the public. The new standing order allows Virginians 18 and older to still receive vaccines, sans prescription.
The new federal requirements to be 64 and older or have a prescription had posed challenges for people statewide, according to health care workers and advocates.
“While one barrier might not seem like a big deal for one population, it is for others,” University of Virginia nursing professor Ashley Apple recently told The Mercury.
Those who live in rural areas or areas with fewer hospitals or primary care clinics may have a harder time accessing a primary care provider and obtaining a prescription. That’s about 3.8 million Virginians statewide, according to a recent Virginia Commonwealth University study.
Last week, two primary care clinics and an urgent care clinic closed that serve patients in the Shenandoah Valley. Augusta Health, which had operated those clinics, cited federal actions like forthcoming health care changes in the reconciliation bill Congress passed this summer as a contributing factor. But the closures still mean less of their health care footprint in the region, and hurdles for some of their patients.
Before VDH’s order, Apple had anticipated a “bottleneck” at primary care clinics, as both current patients and new ones seeking to establish a primary care provider would rush to schedule appointments for prescriptions. She had also suggested the health department issue such an order to quickly open access to the vaccine. The Mercury had asked VDH Tuesday if this type of order was a possibility; VDH epidemiology spokesman Logan Anderson said he wasn’t yet able to answer the question.
While the order can alleviate some of the current hiccup amid the shifting federal policies, accessibility to COVID-19 shots are still up in the air pending other federal actions.
On Sep. 18, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet to discuss guidance for doctors, insurance companies and states on how shots can be accessed.
Insurance companies typically cover vaccines that are recommended by the CDC, but that could change depending on what the ACIP meeting entails.
For people with insurance, their shots might be covered or partially-covered. Out-of-pocket costs for coronavirus vaccines can range in hundreds of dollars. CVS, for instance, charges $224.99.
While ACIP plans to deliberate the future landscape of vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed critics of coronavirus vaccines to the committee, which could signal that the shots may be less accessible, more broadly.
In the meantime, VDH’s order can help those wishing to get their vaccines in the near future. The nation is no longer experiencing a global pandemic, and vaccines have played a role in reducing infections. Last week, nearly 4,000 Virginians tested positive for COVID-19. As colder months approach and people are more likely to gather inside, airborne spread illnesses typically experience upticks.
