Getting the COVID-19 vaccine now can cost up to $200. Here’s what you need to know

The Bridge Access program, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiative to help uninsured and uninsured Americans get free COVID vaccines, has ended. That means for some low-income people, shots that used to be free now cost nearly $200.

Various strains of COVID are still circulating, and this virus is responsible for thousands of deaths each year. By 2023, it was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.

Still, very few Americans stay up-to-date on the latest COVID vaccines, and with the program ending, it looks like those numbers will continue to drop, given that low-income people without insurance will have to decide whether paying for the latest jabs is worth the risk.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Bridge Access Program, and how many people have used it?

The Bridge Access Program provided free COVID vaccines to 25 to 30 million US residents who did not have health insurance or whose insurance did not cover the vaccine. It was easy to access by scheduling appointments or going to pharmacies or health centers participating in the program.

About 34 million COVID-19 vaccines were given to adults in the US last year, and of those, the Bridge Access Program helped fund 1.5 million.

Why is the program ending?

Bridge Access Program pandemic funding expires in August 2024.

Are Americans still being vaccinated against COVID?

According to the Pew Research Center, vaccine numbers have been declining. As of March 2024, only 28% of Americans were up-to-date on COVID vaccines. In comparison, in August 2021, 69% were fully vaccinated.

What other options do low-income Americans have to stay safe?

According to the CDC, there are other ways low-income Americans can get free or low-cost COVID vaccines, though none of them are guaranteed.

Another plan the Biden administration has planned for next year: “The Vaccines for Adults (VFA) program, proposed in the FY 2023 and 2024 Presidential Budgets, could be a long-term solution to ensure that all adults reach the recommended goals. , including the COVID-19 vaccine, at no cost to them,” the CDC website said.

The CDC also announced a plan to allocate $62 million for state and local health departments to purchase vaccines for those who need them. Therefore, uninsured and underinsured people should, in theory, be able to find places to get free or cheap policies. However, the CDC has not set a plan for how those images will be distributed.

What about the children?

According to the CDC, children whose caregivers are uninsured can continue to be vaccinated through the Vaccines For Children Program. According to the CDC, this program prevents approximately 472 million illnesses and 29.8 million hospitalizations, and saves approximately $2.2 trillion due to prevention.

Who would be most affected by the end of the program?

For many people with insurance, nothing will change, as most insurance companies still cover the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, for low-income Americans, and especially black Americans, who are already disproportionately affected by COVID, it is unlikely that virus rates will increase if it becomes difficult to reach vaccines.

In 2021, black Americans were also more likely to contract COVID, and more likely to require hospitalization. While the gap is closing as COVID rates decrease, in 2022, black Americans die at a higher rate of 71.0 per 100,000 people, compared to 58.6 for white Americans.