Fact check: RFK Jr. said ‘everybody can get’ a COVID vaccine. Is that true?

By Grace Abels PolitiFact and Maria Ramirez Uribe PolitiFact KFF Robustness News Everybody can get the COVID- vaccine Robert F Kennedy Jr on Sept in a Senate Finance Committee hearing When medical secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept several senators criticized him for restricting the COVID- shots after promising in November he wouldn t take away anybody s vaccines Did you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying when you reported that Sen Elizabeth Warren D-Mass questioned Kennedy On Aug the FDA updated its COVID vaccine guidance limiting the groups of people approved to get the updated shot to anyone or older and any person at least months old who has at least one underlying healthcare condition that increases their hazard of a severe COVID infection Kennedy pushed back Anybody can get the booster he stated later adding that it s not recommended for healthy people Warren noted If you don t recommend then the consequence of that in multiple states is that you can t walk into a pharmacy and get one It means insurance companies don t have to cover the or so cost Warren and Kennedy continued to speak over each other debating the vaccines availability It depends on the states Kennedy reported But they can still get it Everybody can get it Everybody can get it senator Demanded for evidence the Soundness and Human Services Department pointed to an Aug post on the social platform X from Kennedy that reported These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors Kennedy s blanket declaration to senators is misleading and premature Under current guidance healthy people under might need a practitioner s prescription to get the shot If they successfully get a prescription they may need to pay out-of-pocket Further whether the vaccine is available at pharmacies and covered by insurance is largely dependent on a vaccine panel that has so far issued no recommendations What was the status quo for years that the greater part Americans regardless of age could easily make an appointment at their local pharmacy for the vaccine at little to no out-of-pocket cost is no longer guaranteed in the - season Limited Approval No Guidance The FDA s approval is not the only step in the process of making vaccines available to the inhabitants The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices a panel of independent experts that guides vaccine agenda has not voted on or issued current guidance Typically the Centers for Condition Control and Prevention recommends vaccines based on the panel s guidance And that guidance affects insurance coverage and vaccine access Federal law requires that preponderance healthcare insurance plans fully cover vaccines recommended by the CDC Certain states also require these recommendations before they allow vaccines to be offered over-the-counter at pharmacies On June Kennedy fired all members of the CDC s immunization advisory committee and replaced several with new members a multitude of of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired Aug over what Monarez described as a dispute about vaccine program According to the CDC s website the advisory panel is scheduled to meet Sept to Access Varies by State People in the FDA-approved groups should be able to schedule vaccinations as soon as authorized wellness care providers receive supplies likely in the next scarce weeks Even if you are in these approved groups where you can get a COVID shot varies by state By law pharmacies in certain states won t be able to offer the vaccine or will administer it only with a practitioner s prescription until the CDC s vaccine advisory panel issues its recommendations That means despite the FDA having issued its approval for several groups in states and Washington D C pharmacists cannot administer it because it isn t on the CDC immunization schedule yet Brigid Groves the American Pharmacists Association s vice president of professional affairs previously recounted PolitiFact As of Sept the scheduling apps for Walgreens and CVS notified patients in certain locations that they could not schedule a COVID vaccine appointment because of state restrictions inventory or the need for a prescription Off-Label Prescriptions People not in the FDA s approved group are not banned from getting a COVID vaccine per se But accessing the vaccine will likely require navigating hindrances Doctors can legally prescribe a COVID vaccine for people who fall outside the FDA categories That s true for adults and children and the practice of prescribing medications and vaccines for off-label use is fairly common in pediatrics William Schaffner a Vanderbilt University Diagnostic Center professor of infectious diseases previously reported PolitiFact That requires making and paying for a expert s appointment and finding a specialist willing to prescribe it off-label Depending on ACIP s guidance pharmacists might be able to vaccinate people not in an FDA-approved group through a process called shared clinical decision-making That means for example if you were years old and otherwise healthy but you nonetheless yearned to get the vaccine you could discuss that with your clinician shared clinical decision-making and you could receive the vaccine Schaffner noted Pharmacists are considered clinicians who can conduct shared decision-making Groves mentioned But again without CDC recommendations we don t know if that provision is still there Schaffner declared Waiting on the CDC Insurance coverage for the vaccine is still up in the air too and will largely depend on what the CDC recommends Insurance coverage is more probable for people in an FDA-approved category But if the CDC recommendations include giving vaccines to healthy people through the shared clinical decision-making process insurance companies will generally honor that Schaffner disclosed COVID vaccines cost about according to the CDC s price lists It s unclear whether that would be the out-of-pocket cost for patients receiving a COVID vaccine not covered by insurance Our Ruling Kennedy commented everybody can get a COVID vaccine The FDA limited the groups of people eligible for the COVID vaccines which has already diminished the shots drugstore availability in certain states People who are not in those groups aren t banned from getting a shot but are likely to face additional obstacles For example people may need a medical expert to prescribe the vaccine off-label making the process more challenging and potentially more costly Kennedy s blanket announcement also is premature A CDC vaccine panel has not issued recommendations for the vaccines The group s guidance might affect insurance coverage and over-the-counter access The announcement contains an element of truth the vaccine has not been banned and specific people are approved to get it But it ignores critical facts about the hindrances others could face in accessing and paying for it We rate it Mostly False PolitiFact staff writer Madison Czopek contributed to this record KFF Vitality News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC