As much of the US continues to experience very high levels of Covid-19 activity, government officials announced on Friday the return of programs to offer free tests, vaccines and treatments to see the nation through the winter respiratory virus season.
“The best plan going into this winter is for everyone to remain vigilant, to use the tools we have: vaccines, testing, treatment against the illnesses responsible for the majority of fall and winter deaths and hospitalizations,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.
Free Covid tests won’t be available right away but are coming back in time for fall and winter gatherings. Government-purchased supplies of the antiviral drug Paxlovid will also be available at no charge to people who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid.
The CDC is giving state and local health departments additional funding to provide free Covid vaccines for uninsured and underinsured adults, and free vaccines will continue to be available to children from low-income families through the government’s Vaccines for Children program.
“We can’t forget that every age group is at risk, including our young children,” Cohen said.
She noted that the highest numbers of emergency department visits for Covid over the summer were among children under the age of 5.
Looking ahead to the winter, the CDC’s forecasters are predicting that the US will see about the same number or fewer hospitalizations for respiratory diseases as it did at the same time last year.
Cohen said that forecast could change if lower-than-expected numbers of people get vaccinated or if there’s a variant of Covid-19 or the flu that causes more severe disease than anticipated.
Vaccines for Covid, flu and RSV
Updated Covid-19 vaccines that defend against currently circulating variants were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, amid what appears to be the peak of a summer wave of infections.
Those shots are expected to be in pharmacies within weeks, along with updated flu vaccines. It’s fine to get them both at the same time, Cohen said.
“I can tell you I already have my appointment,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Marks stressed the importance of vaccinations for preventing severe outcomes from Covid, including long Covid.
“The only way you get long Covid is by having Covid,” Marks said. “And vaccines can help prevent Covid.”
Although the federal government’s Bridge Access Program has ended, Cohen said the CDC would distribute $62 million to state and local health departments to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to adults who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.
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“I would encourage folks to be reaching out to their local public health departments, their state health departments, but in addition, their federally qualified health centers as well,” she said. Adults with private and public insurance like Medicare and Medicaid continue to have access to Covid vaccines with no co-pay.
Vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which hospitalizes and kills babies and seniors every year, will also be available.
RSV immunizations are recommended for babies who are under 8 months of age and going into their first RSV season, for adults who are 75 or older and for those 60 or older who have underlying health condition or who live in a nursing home. Certain children who are younger than 20 months old and who are at increased risk for severe disease may also need a second shot.
Unlike the flu and Covid vaccines, RSV vaccines are not expected to be needed each year. That’s because the protection from RSV shots appears to last through more than one season. If you got one of the new RSV vaccines last year, the CDC says, you don’t need another this fall.
How to order free Covid-19 tests
Starting in late September, the government will reopen its Covidtests.gov website. Each household can order up to four free at-home tests, which will be delivered through the mail.
This will be the seventh distribution of free Covid tests, a popular program that has sent out more than 900 million tests since 2021, said Dawn O’Connell, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for planning and response.
Additional free tests will be available at community sites like libraries, food banks and long-term care facilities.
“Taking a quick test is a great way for all of us to keep our friends, family and loved ones protected as we gather to celebrate the holidays.” O’Connell said.
Access to free Covid-19 treatment
O’Connell said the government’s Paxcess program, which is run by drugmaker Pfizer, will continue to distribute free Paxlovid through the end of the year to people who test positive for Covid-19 and who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid.
Pfizer will take over the program starting in 2025 and continue to provide government-purchased Paxlovid to people who are uninsured or underinsured, O’Connell said.
Drugmaker Merck also runs a patient assistance program to help people get its Covid-19 antiviral medication, Lagevrio.