Still in the throes of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans are waiting for updated vaccines to arrive as early as this week.
Another round of free virus test kits are also coming, but they will not be available until late September. They almost certainly won’t come in time for the summer surge, but instead can be used for the next upswing in cases expected this fall and over the winter holidays.
U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the website, COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services agency that oversees the testing has not announced an exact date for ordering to begin.
The tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered ahead of the holiday season when family and friends gather for celebrations, an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Over-the-counter COVID at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year.
Those who have older tests in the medicine cabinet and aren’t sure if they’re still good can check for extended expiration dates online through U.S. Health and Human Services.
The government is once again urging people to get an updated COVID booster, ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season. The updated shots were approved Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration and are expected to be available at pharmacies and other locations over the coming days.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but data shows only 22.5% of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID shot.
Whether or not the latest vaccine will be free depends on an individual’s insurance coverage. The Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program provides vaccines to children at no cost. In Georgia, the VCF program is available to qualifying children and adults up to age 19.
When COVID vaccines entered the commercial market last fall, the federal government introduced a program to make shots accessible and free to people with limited insurance or no insurance. That program, called The Bridge Access Program, is set to end this month. However, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified $62 million in funding for states to get COVID vaccines for low income people at health departments and federally qualified health centers.
Most private health insurance, along with Medicare and Medicaid plans, cover updated COVID vaccines without cost-sharing. People should check with their insurance plan to make sure they get the vaccine from an in-network provider to avoid out-of-network charges.
“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 CDC, said in a recent press conference.
Georgia Department of Public Health spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said DPH has requested 38,000 vaccines for Georgians who are underinsured or uninsured. She said the vaccines will be offered at health departments on a sliding cost scale and the price will be topped out at $21.93. She added no one will be turned away at a local health department due to inability to pay for the vaccine.
This is summer No. 5 with COVID, and, according to CDC’s Cohen, the wave of infections may be at its peak or just past the peak, depending on where people live. Based on transmission rates, the CDC estimates that infections are growing or likely growing in 27 states, including Georgia.
Experts say the heat plays a role in outbreaks, when people stay indoors to avoid the brutal heat and allowing the virus to more easily spread among people. In the metro Atlanta area this week, the highs are expected to hit 96 degrees on Wednesday. People also tend to travel more in the summer and may encounter the virus on airplanes.
But Benjamin Lopman, professor of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, said the main drivers of this summer’s wave are highly contagious strains circulating, and waning population immunity. Last year, the updated vaccines rolled out in September, although they continue to be available all year.
In addition to vaccine, having a COVID infection also offers a boost of immunity, but that temporary boost as well as the protection offered by the vaccine diminishes over several months.
Even so, most people now maintain some immunity which can help protect from getting seriously sick. Doctors report seeing a gradual decline in the severity of symptoms.
But even relatively mild illnesses can disrupt lives and make people sick — and contagious — for several days.
Looking ahead to the winter, the CDC’s forecasters are predicting that the U.S. will see about the same number or fewer hospitalizations for respiratory diseases as it did at the same time last year. The CDC tracks the seasonal flu, RSV and COVID.
Cohen said that forecast could change if lower-than-expected numbers of people get vaccinated or if there’s a variant of COVID or the flu that causes more severe disease than anticipated.
The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the feds have on hand.
Although deaths and serious infections have dropped dramatically since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, hospitalizations have started to slightly creep up in recent weeks. In total, more than 1 million Americans have died from the virus.
Cohen said older adults are at most risk of severe disease from COVID. People with underlying conditions such as diabetes are also at an increased risk. But she said no one is without risk. And she noted that the highest numbers of emergency department visits for COVID over the summer were seen among children under the age of 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
