CDC program will provide free COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured, underinsured adults

Key takeaways:

• The Bridge Access Program will help 25 to 30 million uninsured adults in the United States access cost-free COVID-19 vaccines.
• It is a temporary solution that will launch this fall and expire in December 2024.

The CDC announced it is launching the “Bridge Access Program” this fall to provide COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured and underinsured at no cost.

“Protecting people from COVID-19 remains a top priority for CDC,” CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, said in a press release. “CDC is partnering with state and local public health agencies, health centers and pharmacies to ensure that all adults nationwide maintain access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines.”

According to the CDC, there are an estimated 25 to 30 million uninsured adults in the United States, as well as other adults whose insurance will no longer offer free COVID-19 vaccines after their transition to the commercial market this fall.

Under the Bridge Access Program, the CDC will purchase COVID-19 vaccines and distribute them, along with funding for the program, throughout its network of local and state immunization programs. Those programs will then provide the vaccines to community-based providers, including health departments and Health Resources and Services Administration-supported health centers.

The CDC said it will also work with certain pharmacy chains and vaccine manufacturers, whose participation “is critical to ensure that there is an adequate supply of vaccines for this program,” the release said. Participating pharmacies would be reimbursed for administration fees.

The CDC noted that the program is only a temporary solution and will be set to end in December 2024.

A long-term solution known as the Vaccines for Adults Program has been proposed in the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 presidential budgets and would permanently cover all recommended vaccines for uninsured adults at no cost. However, the proposal has not been enacted into law.

“Ultimately, we know that vaccines save money and lives,” Cohen said. “Vaccination is especially important as we head into fall and winter, a time when COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases are likely to circulate.”