There will likely be a winter surge of COVID-19 in the next few months, but Americans aren’t receiving the bivalent booster shot that targets Omicron variants.
The daily global COVID-19 infection rate is expected to rise by two million daily cases by February, according to an analysis from the University of Washington. Reuters notes that far fewer cases are expected than last winter’s estimated peak driven by the spread of the Omicron variant.
But since the bivalent booster was released in September, fewer than 20 million Americans have received the extra dose. According to the Atlantic, one reason for this could be the failure of the Biden administration’s booster shot campaign. Only half of Americans had even heard “some” information about bivalent boosters according to a recent survey.
To support increasing vaccine uptake and booster shots for children, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage will be available for eligible children to receive the updated COVID-19 booster. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently expanded the use of the booster for children ages 5 to 11 years.
The American Medical Association (AMA) is also joining the push, applauding the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for recommending the addition of COVID-19 vaccines to the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The federally funded program provides vaccines for children at no-cost.
Pfizer has announced commercial pricing for doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. Associated Press reports that it will charge between $110 and $130 per dose of the vaccine, but the manufacturer expects that many Americans will be able to continue to receive the vaccine for free. A spokesman for Pfizer also said that the company has an income-based assistance program for eligible U.S. residents.
Other News
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its findings in an inquiry into the use of temporary relief loans through an accelerated payment program authorized by the CARES Act and other federal requirements. OIG found that the payments made to the COVID-19 Accelerated and Advanced Payments (CAAP) Program were generally in compliance with requirements, Of 109 providers surveyed, CMS appropriately made payments to 100 of them, with adjustments made to the other nine based on unrelated financial status.
Carla Berg, deputy director for public health services at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has left the agency as of October 25. According to the Arizona Republic, a spokesperson with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona confirmed that she will join the insurer on October 31 as chief of staff for the Office of Clinical Excellence.
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