KCUR: As COVID cases in Kansas City increase, so does confusion about vaccine recommendations

By Suzanne King

As students head back to school, COVID-19 rates are ticking up in the Kansas City area.

But this year it may not be quite so clear-cut who should roll up a sleeve for an updated dose of the COVID vaccine.

Recent changes in recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have caused uncertainty about who will be able to get an updated dose this year — and potentially whether insurance will pay for it.

Kansas City-area doctors and public health leaders, though, said their advice hasn’t changed.

In May, the CDC stopped recommending the annual vaccine for children and pregnant women, something physician academies in both practice areas have pushed back on.

And when the Food and Drug Administration licenses this year’s COVID vaccine, there is speculation that the labeling information will limit its recommended use to adults 65 and over and people who are at high risk.

Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, said if that change is made it could affect which vaccines insurance plans will cover. If people are told they no longer meet the criteria to qualify for the vaccine, they could be looking at paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket for it.

On Aug. 19, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its own vaccine recommendations for children in response to the CDC’s changed schedule. Most significantly, the organization added the recommendation that children 6 months to 2 years old receive the vaccine.

“That’s really important, because we know that the most severe disease happens at the extremes of ages,” said Dr. Angela Myers, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospital. “All children under 2 years of age really need to be immunized to be safe.”

Read the full article via KCUR