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Rollout of Covid vaccines is bumpy, but not unexpected, experts say
https://www.statnews.com/2023/09/26/rollout-of-covid-vaccines-is-bumpy-but-not-unexpected-experts-say/But to people who are involved with organizing vaccine delivery efforts, or who study them, what’s happened in the two weeks since the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention greenlit the updated vaccines is not shocking. The transition from a single-payer program to a system where a variety of private and public insurers are covering the cost of vaccine doses was bound to make for a bumpy ride, they say.
“I think we got spoiled in terms of vaccine access,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, who led development of the Vaccines.gov website, where people can find locations that are administering Covid and influenza vaccines. “When the government is not footing the bill, it’s harder.”
In fact, this is what vaccine rollouts typically looked like, in the pre-Covid era, Michelle Fiscus, chief medical officer for the Association of Immunization Managers, told STAT. “I think through the initial pandemic rollout, everyone kind of got into this feeling that vaccines become available instantaneously. When you’ve got generals and the military and all of the resources of the U.S. government behind things, then that can happen. You pre-order vaccine, then [CDC’s expert vaccine panel] approves it and boom! The next day there’s a clinic open somewhere. And the reality of it is that’s not how vaccines are really rolled out in real life,” Fiscus said.
(snip)
But though everyone is entitled to a free Covid shot, the shots aren’t free for every person at every location. People looking for a vaccine through the Bridge program, for example, may have to search to find a provider participating in the program. People with private insurance may find they need to get their shot through their primary care physician, or through one pharmacy chain, but not another.
“I think we got spoiled in terms of vaccine access,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, who led development of the Vaccines.gov website, where people can find locations that are administering Covid and influenza vaccines. “When the government is not footing the bill, it’s harder.”
In fact, this is what vaccine rollouts typically looked like, in the pre-Covid era, Michelle Fiscus, chief medical officer for the Association of Immunization Managers, told STAT. “I think through the initial pandemic rollout, everyone kind of got into this feeling that vaccines become available instantaneously. When you’ve got generals and the military and all of the resources of the U.S. government behind things, then that can happen. You pre-order vaccine, then [CDC’s expert vaccine panel] approves it and boom! The next day there’s a clinic open somewhere. And the reality of it is that’s not how vaccines are really rolled out in real life,” Fiscus said.
(snip)
But though everyone is entitled to a free Covid shot, the shots aren’t free for every person at every location. People looking for a vaccine through the Bridge program, for example, may have to search to find a provider participating in the program. People with private insurance may find they need to get their shot through their primary care physician, or through one pharmacy chain, but not another.
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