This problem is most noticeable with pediatric vaccines, which come in different doses and packaging.
Elias Kass, Seattle area This pediatrician said the difference between federal officials stressing the importance of vaccinations and the experiences of patients who have to reschedule appointments because their health care providers don’t have enough information about when vaccines will arrive. He said he feels there is a disconnect.
“No one is acknowledging the delay in pediatric vaccines, no one is explaining it, and no one is giving an updated schedule,” he wrote. In last week’s email. “The number of babies and children who have tested positive in the last week or two is incredibly depressing. This rollout should have happened months ago.”
Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged patience.
“Manufacturers and distributors were releasing adult vaccines first. This is what was being shipped in the first few days,” Cohen told reporters Thursday. “Supplies are filling up, so be sure to call your pediatrician or pharmacy ahead of time to confirm vaccine availability, and check again if not.”
The difficulty of fortifying America’s youngest populations against the coronavirus has become the latest example of the country’s byzantine, decentralized health care system.
When federal health officials recommended the latest coronavirus vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, officials Citation data This shows that infants, as well as older adults, have the highest rate of coronavirus-related hospitalizations. Additionally, most of her children under the age of 5 who were hospitalized with the disease had no underlying health conditions. Although children are at low risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, public health officials say the use of vaccines remains essential to save lives from preventable diseases.
Uptake of previous coronavirus vaccinations among eligible children was low, with less than one in five receiving the latest booster. According to the CDC. Experts fear uptake of the latest vaccines will decline further if families continue to have difficulty accessing them.
Doctors say they generally prefer Moderna’s single-dose vials because they reduce the possibility of waste. But some parents and doctors said getting the Moderna vaccine for children under 5 has been particularly difficult.
CDC recommend it children under 5 years old If you have previously been vaccinated against the coronavirus, you will need one or two doses of Moderna or the latest vaccines from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Use doses from the same manufacturer.
Jamie Leonardi, a mother of two in the Pittsburgh area, has run into roadblocks multiple times trying to administer her 4-year-old daughter Juliet’s second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Leonardi called the pediatric clinic, which has more than 250 health care workers.Vaccines were in short supply and provided. There is no information on when it will be available. She didn’t have a county health department, pharmacy or supermarket that regularly held vaccination clinics.
she She is worried because Juliette, who attends full-day kindergarten, and her eldest daughter Juno, who is 7, have already been exposed in the classroom.
She discovered on social media that Walgreens carries Moderna pediatric drugs, but her insurance plan told her the pharmacy chain was out of network and wouldn’t cover the shots. Ta.
“The CDC is sending a message to everyone to go get the vaccine, no problem,” Leonardi said. “But no, there is no vaccine.”
Moderna began shipping pediatric doses last week, according to an industry official and a federal health official familiar with the distribution, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. Moderna did not respond to questions about distribution of pediatric doses.
Pediatricians say Pfizer has requirements that are burdensome for the youngest age groups (6 months to 4 years), requires a larger minimum order than Moderna requires, and requires three doses on the same day. Said it was necessary to use a vial. And it initially appeared that pediatricians vaccinating the youngest groups would not receive refunds from Pfizer for unused doses until May 2024.
“Pediatricians cannot afford to become banks and lend money to Pfizer so they can stock up on vaccines and later seek financing,” said Sandy Chan, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy and CDC will host a town hall for members on Wednesday to discuss coronavirus vaccine recommendation and distribution issues.
Hearing voices calling for more flexibility, Pfizer spokesperson Kit Longley said the company recently changed its refund policy. Offices can now return unused vaccines for that age group at any time, including partially used vials, and receive a credit within 60 days.
“We recognize both the importance and complexity of childhood vaccinations and wanted to ensure there are no obstacles for pediatric practices to provide vaccines to their patients,” Longley said in an email. mentioned in.
The bigger problem for pediatricians is trying to estimate how many doses they’ll need to buy in advance while waiting to see how much their insurance company will reimburse them.
Several large health insurance companies covering hundreds of millions of Americans told Health and Human Services Secretary He said it was resolved.
While this may solve the problem for adults seeking vaccines at pharmacies, pediatricians say they are not getting the payment information they need from their insurance plans.
Reshma Chugani, a pediatrician in Atlanta whose two-doctor practice is unable to stock the Pfizer vaccine because her insurance plan’s online system doesn’t show the amount she’ll be paid. he said. On Friday, she said, she received an updated price list through Oct. 14 from a major insurance plan that didn’t even list the coronavirus vaccine.
Chughani said coronavirus vaccine uptake among children is abysmal, “but it will get even worse if they have to fight for payment from insurance companies.”
Chughani and other pediatricians are concerned about the rising number of coronavirus cases in some parts of the country, particularly in the south. Some children’s hospitals are experiencing a high volume of patient visits to emergency departments due to infections with RSV, another respiratory virus. — RS virus — Mr. Nakatani said.
Some critics say public health officials should have provided children with the latest coronavirus vaccines before the start of the school year, which has begun with rising cases and hospitalizations nationwide. He points out that
Dr. Kass, of Seattle, said he was able to order the Moderna pediatric vaccine a week in advance for his two-doctor practice, but was unable to schedule an appointment because he didn’t know when the vaccine would arrive. Late Thursday night, he received notification that the vaccine would arrive the next day.
“We ordered 500 doses and a UPS truck arrived with 100 doses,” Kass said Friday. However, he said the practice has already paused filming schedules for 300 children. He said about 30 to 40 children who happened to receive a flu shot on Friday were able to receive the coronavirus vaccine at the same time.
“Patience doesn’t help you plan for the patient,” he said. “I need information.”