GREAT FALLS — Across Cascade County, some people are asking how they can receive the newly-approved COVID vaccine ahead of the respiratory infection season.
For now, the answer is not simple. The Cascade City-County Health Department says doses have been ordered but have not yet arrived in Great Falls.
Aneesa Coomer reports - watch:
Lenore Harris, the department’s Immunization Program Manager, says, “Currently we don’t have it here at the health department. It is on order, we’re just waiting for it to come in.”
The holdup comes down to timing and insurance coverage. The federal Food & Drug Administration has already approved this year’s shot, but another federal panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), has to weigh in before the vaccine can be distributed widely.
Cascade County Health Officer Abigail Hill explains, “If they determine that the COVID vaccine is recommended, then that’s what guides insurance companies and the CDC to cover that cost. But if the ACIP does not recommend it for certain age groups, then insurance companies are not required to have that as a covered benefit.”
That meeting will determine guidelines on accessibility and coverage of the vaccine. Harris says, “It seems to be a common concern and question at the moment of when the product would be available? Can we bill insurance for it? Will they need a prescription for it? So, there’s still a lot of questions that we’re waiting for the final answers on.”
The ACIP is scheduled to meet September 18th and 19th. But the process is facing more than the usual attention this year.
The US Department of Health & Human Services recently replaced the entire ACIP panel after firing the CDC director.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed new members, including several who have been openly skeptical of vaccines.
Hill says, “When that meeting is happening, it’s a little bit delayed. And so that’s why we’re a little bit up in the air coming into this respiratory season.”
That uncertainty has created confusion locally. During the first years of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines were offered free to everyone. Now, like other immunizations, most people will go through insurance to get them, while the uninsured may rely on limited federal supply programs, or have to pay upwards of $150 out of pocket.
Health officials say they are ready to start vaccinating as soon as the doses arrive, and federal guidance is given, but for now, the community will have to wait.
Hill adds, “Everyone’s in this waiting game right now, we just don’t want people paying out of pocket.”
It's important to note that retail pharmacies may have the vaccine available.
