Americans probably won’t have to pay for a coronavirus vaccine once researchers have one ready, according to reports.
The US government intends to take the plunge for the hundreds of millions of faxed dosages that pharmaceutical companies race to produce, The Wall Street Journal reported. The interviewees also spoke reportedly with insurance companies to ensure that patients can get the shots without fumbling a copy.
“What we hope is that every American not only gets a free vaccine that is distributed to many different stores, but also does not have to pay for the administration of that vaccine,” said Paul Mango, deputy health policy staff at the Department of Health and Human Services. human services said Thursday.
A deal with insurers to eliminate co-payments of vaccines would follow a commitment by the industry to cover coronavirus testing and treatment at no cost to patients, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group.
But some Americans may have to wait longer than others to be inoculated. Officials say they are working on a ‘priority list’ that is likely to put health care workers, nursing homes, seniors and people at high risk for chronic illness first in line for a vaccine, according to the Washington Examiner.
“We’ll be in a better place than anyone has almost been with a new vaccine where you already have a lot of doses, but you still have to think about how to choose the priorities in the first months, until we can immunize anyone, ”said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, per the WSJ.
The Trump administration says it has pledged more than $ 12 billion to support the development of six potential coronavirus vaccines, which health experts see as key to ending the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
The government intends to deliver 300 million doses of a safe and effective vaccine by January as companies such as Moderna and AstraZeneca test whether their shots will work.
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