People face hurdles that come in the pharmacy in the vaccines: shots

Jason Mitton wanted one of the new Covid 19 vaccines before he went on a business trip. But the pharmacists in a drugstore near his house in Austin, Texas, refused.

“He says: ‘Do you have a doctor’s note?’ I said, “No, he said.”

Mitton, who is 55 years old and says he plans to continue trying to try to be vaccinated.

“I find it ridiculous,” says Mitton. “I think it should be a person’s right to get the vaccine or not. So I’m very angry.”

The same applies to Cheryl Huges, 64, who lives outside of Cleveland. She had to get another shot as soon as the updated versions have been available. But it is not justified.

“I’m angry,” says Hughes. “Who wants to get sick?”

For the first time, Covid vaccines are available for everyone from 6 months to simply get to a pharmacy and to inoculate.

In a large departure the food and drug administration Only approved the recordings For those who have the greatest risk of making themselves sick from Covid because they are at least 65 or have another health problem that makes them very susceptible.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary for Health and Human Services, and other health officers from the Trump government argue that most otherwise healthy, younger people have so much immunity that they no longer necessarily need annual booster.

But many Americans who do not fulfill the new criteria still want to be vaccinated to avoid being sick or spreading the virus to endangered family members.

And independent medical organizations such as the Infectious Disease Society of America argue that Everyone should have the option To be vaccinated, as there is convincing evidence that the vaccines reduce the risk of serious complications, including hospital stays and death, even for other people who are otherwise healthy.

Hughes wants to stay healthy so that she can take care of her husband who has dementia. She is his only caretaker.

“When I get sick, my husband may have to go to a care facility. I could lose my job. It would be terrible,” says Hughes.

What it takes to get the shot

Secretary Kennedy has repeatedly claimed that the new rules will not prevent anyone from being vaccinated if they want. But many people have announced that they have problems.

Basically, they can still be vaccinated if you meet the criteria, get a doctor to prescribe a shot, or if you “confirm” yourself that you are entitled to meet the pharmacist.

But sometimes people are rejected because the deliveries of the newly formulated shots have not yet arrived. Sometimes it is because you have not fulfilled the new criteria. Or you to be told that you can get a shot if you get a recipe first, only to be rejected inexplicably if you return with the order of a doctor.

Some people describe the hunt for a shot from the pharmacy to the pharmacy and the doctor’s office to the doctor’s office – sometimes even an foreign state.

The companies that make the recordings, Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax did not say exactly how many cans they made this year in view of the closer FDA permits. But Pfizer says that it is “similar volumes” as last year and that it is confident that it will satisfy the demand. It also means that millions of doses have already been sent.

Claire Hannan, The executive director of the Association of Immunization ManagerSays she does not expect the vaccine supply to be a problem. She says that pharmacies can order the Covid shots and they have been shipped.

“I think it will be more difficult,” she says. “But I think everyone who wants it will be able to get it. But they will only have to work hard to find it.”

However, some clinics and pharmacies have not received the supplies they ordered. And some medical agencies, including pediatricians and clinics, can decide not to store the recordings this year if they do not expect enough demand.

If you try to find one, Pfizer and Modern Both have Vaccination finder website on and running.

Waiting for the guidance of the CDC

A big catch is that pharmacists are prohibited in some countries to give the recordings until the centers for the control and prevention of diseases and prevention have specific recommendations for who should be vaccinated.

In the past few years, these recommendations have come in spring. But Kennedy fired The entire Consulting committee for immunization practicesThe independent group, which formulates these recommendations and replaces the members by his own advisors.

Kennedy’s new committee should meet about the Covid vaccines and other problems next week. This could alleviate some of the problems, including hesitation, that some pharmacists and doctors have due to the changing rules and confusion.

But it remains unclear what the consultants will do. You could make it easier or more difficult for people to get a shot. Many of the New members of the committee Share Kennedys anti-access.

In both cases until the committee meeting takes place, the recordings that are part of the program for vaccines for children are not sent, says Hannan, who explained that people have not yet been able to order them. About half of the children in the USA can entitle free vaccines as part of the program.

Health insurance coverage could also prove to be difficult. Although Aetna and United Healthcare have communicated, they will cover the Covid shot without a cost division for people with fully insured plans -even for humans outside of the closer approval of the FDA -it is not clear what other insurance companies will do. And even people who have Aetna or United could have other species of plans that do not cover the shot that could reset the patients around 200 US dollars.

Fears for family members in need of protection, children

In the meantime, many Americans have tried to find out how they can still be vaccinated.

“I am very angry, frustrated,” says Allison Cote, 32, from Bristol, Conn.

Cote wants to stay good to protect her father who has heart failure, other family members with diabetes and a relative who recently received a kidney transplant.

She is also concerned about her 16 month old son. This year he is not entitled to have vaccinated this year, even though Covid can be very dangerous for babies. The new recordings are only approved for children who have diseases that expose them to a high risk.

Indeed, the CDC this spring Recommendations dropped that children and pregnant women are routinely vaccinated. For children, the agency recommends that parents first talk to their doctors about the vaccination of their children.

“It’s just very annoying,” says Cote. “Why do I have to jump through tires to do this? It’s a kind of scary.”

Stephan Neidenbach, 45, a teacher of public school teachers from Annapolis, Md., Is also frustrated and angry. He is worried about getting sick and spreading the virus to his students, his older parents or his mother -in -law who have lung problems.

“I would feel terrible if I got it and if I passed it on to someone I was interested. It is terrifying,” says Neidenbach.

Therese MCrae, 37, from Sandy, Utah, would also like to be vaccinated. Her main motivation is to protect her 4-year-old daughter, who has type 1 diabetes, what is exposed to serious complications.

“A parent of a small child with a complex medical diagnosis is difficult enough,” says McRae. “The people in the area that cannot be vaccinated increases their risk. It is only very overwhelming. It is scary.”

The 43 -year -old Karen Lambey, who lives near Richmond, Virginia, also wants a vaccine. She says she has immunocomades after the development of Long Covid. Her pharmacist told her that she needed a recipe to get the shot and she couldn’t find a doctor who could give her one.

“Any kind of flu, covid, would reset me considerably,” says Lambey. “These are all additional hurdles that add up again and again. I feel disappointed because this is important for my health.”

And Lambey’s parents are also immune. She is afraid to spread the virus on her. “That could possibly be life -threatening for her,” she says. “I couldn’t live with it.”