The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ensured the vaccination of uninsured children.
The CDC took the initiative after vaccine producers planned to move Covid vaccines to the commercial market. According to the health agency, the vaccine would be administered to uninsured children for free, as a precaution that Covid will no longer take lives, as it has done these couple of years.
The Federal government of the United States launched the Vaccines for Children program. And under the program, the CDC voted that kids without insurance be administered the vaccine free of charge.
CDC and the Vaccines for Children program
The US government started Vaccines for Children to help impoverished families access Covid-19 vaccines, particularly those below 18 years old. Under the program, qualified beneficiaries include uninsured children, underinsured individuals, Native Americans, or under the Medicaid program.
The Biden administration distributed Covid vaccines during the pandemic for free. However, now that the conditions have eased, Biden is trying to transfer the vaccines to the commercial market. Unfortunately, this means people must pay for the vaccine to access it, beginning in 2023.
However, CDC sees the move as retrogressive to low-income families. Therefore, the CDC announced several healthcare grants to qualified individuals to access the vaccines for free. As of the moment, children as young as six months old receive the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.
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Many will suffer, says the CDC
The CDC said the eventual repeal of the Covid emergency programs led to vaccine inaccessibility among children. For instance, many will suffer if Biden removes the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which is effective during the pandemic.
Therefore, the program launched by the CDC benefits the impoverished, as it targets the vulnerable and those without resources to continue accessing the vaccine.
“This is an access issue. This is an issue to allow children that don’t have insurance to gain access to this vaccine,” said Dr. Jose Romero, the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases director.
CDC data reveals that since August 2020, Covid-19 has led to the hospitalization of over 162,000 under 18 years old. While the effects are comparatively less severe than in adults, the CDC said it is essential to strengthening access to vaccines for children so that the country could avoid further fatalities.
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Removing the health programs
The possible repeal of the health programs during the pandemic caused panic among health officials. Agencies expect around 15 million to be a
“We’re in the third year of the pandemic. We’ve gone through hell. And we’ve sacrificed. We’ve used all kinds of emergency powers. So if you’re going to end all that, you have to end it in a transparent way, honestly, with the American public about what they gain and what they lose,” said Lawrence Gostin from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
“It could affect emergency use authorization, where you couldn’t give these EUAs, so the FDA would have to approve the drug fully. So it could have enormous knock-on effects that need to be carefully thought through,” he added.
Photo Credit: Gallup
Source: CNBC
