CDC will cover cost of COVID-19 vaccines for those who qualify

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – There’s a new COVID-19 vaccine rolling out, but some people have had to pay for it.
Those who don’t have insurance but want the vaccine, will have to pay. But now there’s a program in place so they won’t have to.

When the original COVID-19 vaccines were rolling out no one had to pay out of pocket to get one. They were funded by the federal government, but that ended on May 11 of this year.

The updated COVID vaccine is now out. It will be covered by most insurances, but not all. And those who don’t have any health insurance may have to pay for the shot out of pocket. Nationwide, some patients have reported costs upwards of two hundred dollars.

I spoke with the county’s top doctors about why the vaccine matters and the Associate Director of Infection Prevention at Rochester Regional Health about pandemic fatigue.

“As we look ahead to the next spike in COVID, we don’t exactly know what that’s going to look like. We know that the numbers are increasing. I think we need to go back to the basics. You know, not a complicated message. The vaccine works at preventing serious illness and death. We’ve got to beat that drum as hard as we can,” Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Michael Mendoza said.

“We do know this is a safe vaccine that really can benefit people who are at risk for severe illness, but I think there’s going to be a number of healthy adults who just say, I think I’ve gotten enough shots and I’m not interested in getting another dose,” said Jen Gutowski, RRH Associate Director of Infection Prevention.

See if you qualify for COVID-19 vaccine here.