Comment: Can you still get a covid booster? It's complicated. [View all]

By Lisa Jarvis / Bloomberg Opinion

As vaccine season approaches and covid cases tick up in some parts of the country, friends and colleagues keep pinging me with the same question: “Can I still get a covid booster?”

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. My short version goes something like this: Probably; but it might be harder to find, and you may have to pay for it out of pocket.

The longer version? It’s complicated. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and leaders at the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health have created widespread confusion around the shots; not only about who’s eligible, but also by casting doubt on whether the vaccines are safe or even necessary. That uncertainty has already prompted at least one major medical group to offer its own, evidence-based recommendations.

But the disconnect between the official HHS messaging and expert medical guidance has left patients in a gray area. There’s a lot of room for interpretation — and inconsistency — in how the shots will be offered, recommended or covered by insurance.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-can-you-still-get-a-covid-booster-its-complicated/