Can I still get a COVID vaccine? What to know about federal changes
The federal government no longer recommends the COVID vaccine for healthy children or pregnant women, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a longtime vaccine skeptic — announced Tuesday.
This follows last week's announcement by the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the FDA will limit access to the COVID vaccine to adults 65 and older and people with underlying medical conditions only.
The changes circumvent longstanding public health protocols for how vaccine recommendations are made to the American public, which for decades have been shaped by scientific advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The advisers — an outside panel of doctors, vaccine researchers and other public health experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — review vaccine data and make recommendations to the CDC director.
The administration's unilateral decision to restrict access to the COVID vaccine was made without this input. It likely means millions of Americans who are not part of the recommended groups — such as healthy adults under 65 and healthy children — may find it harder to get the shots and may have to pay for it out of pocket, which can cost around $200. Health insurers typically only cover vaccines that are recommended by the federal government.
'That is probably the biggest issue,' said Dr. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health. 'The vaccines may not be as readily available, and won't be for free, and insurance companies may not pay for them.'
How exactly this will play out at pharmacies and health care providers is not yet clear. Much of it will depend on how individual insurers and providers proceed. Insurers could decide to continue covering the vaccine for everyone even though the federal recommendations have changed. Providers could keep making the vaccine available to everyone, but start requiring people to show they are over 65 or have an underlying condition — which is what providers had to do in early 2021, when vaccine supply was scarce and had to be prioritized for the highest risk people.
'Big providers like Kaiser Permanente could decide they're going to make the vaccine available to pregnant women and children and encourage people to get it,' said Dr. Art Reingold, a professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health who previously served on the federal vaccine advisory panel to the CDC. 'If you're fortunate enough to have that kind of provider, presumably your access to the vaccine won't change. If, on the other hand, you are in a system that decides, 'The federal government is not recommending it and we're not paying for it,' that's a problem. So it may depend on what kind of health insurance you have and where you get your health care.'
Blue Shield of California, one of the largest health insurers in California with nearly 6 million members, said Wednesday it will continue to cover the COVID vaccine for everyone 6 months and older.
'Despite recent federal policy change on COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women, Blue Shield of California will continue to cover COVID-19 vaccines for all eligible members,' the insurer said in a statement. 'The decision on whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is between our member and their provider. Blue Shield does not require prior authorization for COVID-19 vaccines.'
Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday said it is following current guidance for the 2024-25 COVID vaccine, which recommends the shot for everyone 6 months and older.
"We are aware of the potential for changes to COVID vaccination recommendations by federal health agencies," Kaiser said in a statement. "At this time, no formal guidance has been issued by the CDC for the 2025-26 respiratory virus season. We anticipate formal guidance following the June 2025 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices."
Healthy adults under 65 and healthy children may need to get a prescription from a doctor or pharmacist to obtain the vaccine. This may be considered off-label use, which means a medication is prescribed for something other than what the FDA has approved it for.
'Health care providers can prescribe medications and vaccines that are off label, but whether you can easily find someone who will, or whether that'll obstruct your access … I don't know whether there will be additional obstacles other than having to pay for it, which for many people is a big obstacle,' Reingold said.
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