A federal program that provides free COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured and underinsured adults will end this summer ahead of the fall rollout of updated vaccines to combat newer variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its Bridge Access Program will end in August due to a lack of funding. The program has provided more than 1.4 million free COVID-19 vaccines since its launch in September 2023, at a cost of more than $1 billion.
The Bridge Access Program was intended to be temporary and was originally scheduled to end in December 2024.
COVID-19 vaccines were first available on the commercial market last fall, when the federal government stopped distributing them once the public health emergency ended.
Most private insurance companies cover the vaccine for free, but there are 25 to 30 million adults without health insurance and other adults whose insurance does not cover the full cost of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Bridge program allowed the CDC to purchase vaccines from manufacturers and distribute them to state and local health departments, as well as pharmacies, where they would be made available to the uninsured.
The fiscal year 2024 government funding bill rescinded $4.3 billion in COVID-19 funding that was never obligated, and a CDC spokesperson indicated the agency was using some of it to administer the program Bridge.
“Due to congressional terminations of COVID-19 funds in the FY 2024 Additional Consolidated Appropriations Act, difficult decisions had to be made about the future of CDC activities supported by these funds,” David Daigle told The Hill for e -mail.
As a potential replacement, the CDC advocates an Adult Vaccines proposal that was included in President Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget request. If enacted, it would give uninsured adults free access to recommended vaccines, similar to the successful Vaccines for Children program. The White House requested $25 billion over a decade to finance it.
But even if the program is included, the appropriations process will not be completed in time for the fall vaccine rollout.
Through August, people can find out where to find a free COVID-19 Bridge vaccine at vaccines.gov.
“After August, there may be a small amount of free vaccines available through health department immunization programs, but supply would be very limited. We don’t yet know if manufacturers will have patient assistance programs,” Daigle said.
The Food and Drug Administration will meet in early June to discuss which new COVID-19 variants the fall vaccines will target.
But vaccination rates remain low. According to the latest federal estimates from early May, only 22.5 percent of adults reported receiving a 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine since it began being distributed in mid-September 2023.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
