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As retail pharmacies and many health clinics and doctors’ offices await federal guidance on who should get the new Covid vaccine, federally qualified health centers, which serve the uninsured, are offering the shots in Georgia.
Dr. Theresa Jacobs, clinical director for the Georgia Primary Care Association, which represents 34 FQHCs across the state, said they will write prescriptions for people to get the shots at pharmacies or provide the vaccine on-site.
Some clinics in the network have the shots in stock, while others do not.
“Anyone that wants it, we will write the prescription, or we will give the Covid-19” shot, Jacobs told Healthbeat on Thursday.
Unlike previous years, when the Covid vaccine was widely available at retail pharmacies, this year you may need a prescription – at least for now.
The centers typically charge fees on a sliding scale for uninsured or underinsured patients, she said. People with insurance can also be seen at the clinics and get vaccinated.
It’s a different story at the county clinics that are part of the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are holding off on providing the latest Covid shots, which have been updated to protect against the coronavirus strains that are currently circulating.
Georgia DPH is awaiting guidance from a key U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee on who should get the shots, according to a statement from spokesperson Nancy Nydam Shirek.
That CDC committee – the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP – is set to meet Sept. 18-19 in Atlanta. The panel typically provides Covid vaccine recommendations for the fall respiratory season earlier in the summer, but did not do so this year, leaving Georgia doctors, pharmacists, and patients in limbo as the updated vaccines arrive.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spread false information about vaccines, replaced the committee’s 17 members with his own picks. The new committee’s decisions about vaccine policies have drawn criticism from scientists and many professional medical organizations.
The confusion has been compounded by recent changes to Food and Drug Administration vaccine guidance, which limited eligibility for the Covid shot to those who are over 65 and those who have an underlying medical condition that puts them at risk for severe disease.
The changes only apply to the updated Covid shots. The flu and RSV vaccines are available as usual and widely recommended.
The regulatory uncertainty around the Covid shots has prompted Georgia pharmacies to require patients to get a prescription for them, a departure from prior years.
Children who qualify for the Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccines to un- and underinsured children, can still get the vaccines under that program at FQHCs, Jacobs said.
“Since the wholesale firing of all 17 ACIP members, trust in the integrity of ACIP recommendations has plummeted. This has many physicians turning to medical organizations for specific recommendations,” said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, an Atlanta internist who serves on the board of the American Medical Association.
“I continue to encourage my own patients to get a dose of the updated vaccine as soon as they can and when they can,” Fryhofer said. “We are in the midst of a late summer wave of Covid. I have had many patients come in recently with Covid infections.”
Some doctors in private practice are providing the vaccine or prescriptions for it. Dr. Cecil Bennett of Newnan Family Medicine Associates said his patients will be able to get the shot at his practice when it arrives in stock, which he estimates will be at the end of the month.
Bennett said he no longer trusts the CDC’s vaccine guidance and is instead turning to professional medical societies like the American Academy of Family Physicians. He recommends the new Covid vaccine for anyone 6 months or older, especially the elderly and people with underlying conditions.
“The sooner the better,” Bennett said, suggesting anytime before November is the best time to get vaccinated.
Doctors at Morehouse Healthcare, which has three clinics in Atlanta, are only writing prescriptions for patients to get the new Covid shots at local pharmacies in line with the latest FDA guidance, said spokesperson Bill Marks. That means only those who are age 65 and older and those who are at high risk for complications from Covid.
CVS pharmacies will require patients to have a prescription in Georgia, spokesperson Amy Thibault told Healthbeat.
CVS has over 50 MinuteClinics in Georgia, where medical providers can administer the updated shots to patients who meet the FDA’s eligibility criteria.
Patients are “asked to attest to their eligibility” when signing up for MinuteClinic appointments, according to a list of CDC medical conditions that increase risk for severe Covid, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and many others.
It’s still unclear how insurers will handle the cost, though they typically cover the shots recommended by ACIP.
The latest Covid vaccine will cost about $225 out-of-pocket at CVS stores, Thibault said.
Some doctors in private practice are not providing the shots yet. Piedmont Healthcare spokesperson John Manasso said Piedmont providers can write prescriptions “as clinically appropriate.”
Atlanta resident Ashutosh Sharma said his primary care physician in the Piedmont network asked him to wait.
“As the ACIP has not yet met, we don’t have any knowledge as to the policies/procedures that will be required by pharmacies or insurers with regard to obtaining new Covid vaccines,” a note to Sharma from his doctor said.
Shana Cohen said her doctor is in the Wellstar network and a webpage there said her physician could not offer the Covid shot at this time. And she couldn’t get the vaccine at a commercial pharmacy without a prescription.
Tell us about your experiences in trying to get the new Covid vaccine. Write to Atlanta public health reporter Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@healthbeat.org with your story and questions.
