ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) -- The newly updated COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in the United States, but for the first time since the pandemic started, the vaccines will no longer be free for individuals without insurance.
The rollout comes after nearly 40 states reported high COVID activity levels throughout the summer months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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As the cold and flu season draws closer, health experts say the new vaccine is coming at the perfect time.
Dr. Ellis Matheson, Buncombe County Public Health Director, said the following in a statement:
"The newly updated COVID vaccines are now available for the fall and winter months. Getting the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine is important because protection from the COVID-19 vaccine decreases with time and new COVID-19 vaccines are updated to give you the best protection from the currently circulating strains.
Getting the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine is especially important if you have never received a COVID-19 vaccine, are ages 65 years and older, arehigh risk for severe COVID-19, live in a long-term care facility, arepregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or might become pregnant in the future, and also want to lower your risk of getting Long COVID.
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer, more reliable way to build protection than getting sick with COVID-19."
Cory Brookshire, the manager at B & B Pharmacy in Asheville, says not all insurance covers the new shot.
"Medicare hasn't set up a lot of their billing codes for it yet, so we're only able to provide private insurance, currently," Brookshire said. "Insurance is still paid for, for the most part, but if you're without insurance, there haven't been any government assistance programs."
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During the height of pandemic, vaccines were purchased by the federal government and offered free for everyone. Recently, the shots transitioned to the commercial market.
"It was great when it was all provided free by the government for us to get the shots, to give out the shots and for those who didn't have insurance, it was paid for," Brookshire said. "Now, that it has moved to the consumer market, they became a lot more strict on how they give access to it. When COVID was still a health emergency, they set up programs in Congress that allowed the vaccines to be created first, and then once they were created, they had a buying program through the government that purchased directly from the drug companies. Once they bought all the vaccines, they allowed pharmacies to order directly from the government to get that vaccine shifted here."
Brookshire said that in 2021, that system of vaccine distribution went away, and in 2022, it shifted to the consumer private market.
Brookshire said he hopes that by sometime early next week, Medicare will get the billing straightened out.