FALL COVID SHOT ROLLOUT GETS OFF TO A BUMPY START

"Some patients report delays in health insurance coverage for the shots.

Private insurance plans and government payers such as Medicare are required to cover the new jabs from Pfizer and Moderna, which became available late last week. Dozens of posts on social media in recent days show some patients were charged anywhere between $125 and $190 for a shot at pharmacies. Others were told their insurance plans aren’t covering the new vaccines yet.

Many areas in the US also have not yet received their first shipment of the new vaccine. In that case, insurance coverage isn’t the main problem. Not having the vaccine to give to those, who want the shot, totally prohibits getting vaccinated at any price point."

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WAITING for the VACCINE

"An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be in Kansas City in the next few weeks.

The shot combats newer variants more effectively and comes as case numbers and deaths trend notably up across the metro. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine over a week ago.

But people across the Kansas City metro are in limbo
as they await shipments set to arrive in the next few weeks.

The new shot is designed to protect against a strain of the omicron variant known as XBB. Although the EG.5 variant recently overtook XBB as the dominant strain in the Kansas City region, the new shot is expected to still provide good protection against severe disease and hospitalization."

Unfortunately, overall “take up” is expected to be low… (See statement below made by the state of Missouri).

Meanwhile, many individuals in the high-risk category heavily rely on staying up to date on their COVID vaccines to avoid the worst possible outcome from getting the virus. Although a significant number of people already have (or had) scheduled appointments with local pharmacies and doctors’ offices, the vaccine is not locally available. Therefore, rescheduling and hoping for the best is currently the only option for those who want to be vaccinated."

Some places were offering free COVID vaccination clinics until the end of September. But without any vaccine available, these special clinics (scheduled to end October 1st) now probably will not happen. There are no contingent plans to have free vaccination clinics if the vaccine finally arrives in the Metro in October. Odd, but that just how things are.

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Free COVID Tests

"WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced today Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months. The Department of Health and Human Services says orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Sept. 25, and that no-cost tests will be delivered for free by the United States Postal Service."

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"DeSantis Says He WON'T SUPPORT COVID VACCINE if Elected President"

"Amid an uptick in coronavirus cases and an increase in hospitalizations late this summer, GOP presidential contenders have increasingly touted their opposition to new public safety efforts."

"DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential contender, has said he won’t allow federal officials who green-lit the new boosters to 'use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been proven to be safe or effective.' DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo discussed the state’s guidance for the new boosters in an online roundtable last Wednesday. Their updated guidance directly contradicts the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation."

Who is "Joseph Ladapo" the Florida Surgeon General??? "During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ladapo promoted unproven treatments, opposed vaccine and mask mandates, questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and spread miscellaneous falsehoods contradicting professional medical organizations."

That being said,

“Last week alone, Florida logged the most COVID deaths in the nation or more than 14% of the country’s total Covid-19 deaths. The state also logged the most hospitalization in the past week, again the most in the nation and more than 11% of the total hospital admissions in the United States. In addition, Florida has had more Covid-19 deaths over the past three months than any other state.”

Politics seems to speak louder than science or common sense. Florida's governor and the surgeon general are telling Floridians NOT to get COVID vaccinated this Fall to protect themselves from severe illness and death. Meanwhile, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are still being recommended in Florida as COVID treatments.

Hopefully, this will not end up as the future for the entire United States. Politics should not trump (no pun intended) medical science nor US citizens' health welfare. Because of politics and a virus that isn't going to go away, these are some crazy times. Who knows what the future will bring? No matter what your political beliefs, the virus is here to stay and is going to mutate to require new vaccines. To be safe from serious illness, it is advisable to stay current with the newest vaccines.

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Missouri Health Department Statement

“Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services @HealthyLivingMo
"COVID vaccines will be available in Missouri soon,

IF YOU ARE IN TO THAT SORT OF THING.
If not, just keep scrolling!”

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"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - This recent post from the Missouri Department of Health about the COVID vaccine sparked backlash on social media. The post racked up over 600,000 views and hundreds of comments on “X” formally known as Twitter.

Some users praised DHHS for its honest approach, while others expressed their anger that the health department was treating the issue of COVID vaccines as a joke."

Missouri is a Red State.