\u201cEverybody can get\u201d the covid-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sept. 4 in a Senate Finance Committee hearing<\/p>\n
When health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 4, several senators criticized him for restricting the covid-19 shots after promising in November he wouldn\u2019t \u201ctake away anybody\u2019s vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying when you said that?\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Kennedy.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 27, the FDA updated<\/a> its covid vaccine guidance<\/a>, limiting the groups of people approved to get the updated shot to anyone 65 or older and any person at least 6 months old who has at least one underlying health condition that increases their risk of a severe covid infection.<\/p>\n Kennedy pushed back. \u201cAnybody can get the booster,\u201d he said, later adding that \u201cit\u2019s not recommended for healthy people.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren said, \u201cIf you don\u2019t recommend, then the consequence of that in many states is that you can\u2019t walk into a pharmacy and get one. It means insurance companies don\u2019t have to cover the $200 or so cost.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren and Kennedy continued to speak over each other, debating the vaccines\u2019 availability.<\/p>\n \u201cIt depends on the states,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cBut they can still get it. Everybody can get it. Everybody can get it, senator.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked for evidence, the Health and Human Services Department pointed to an Aug. 27 post<\/a> on the social platform X from Kennedy that said, \u201cThese vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s blanket statement to senators is misleading and premature.<\/p>\n Under current guidance, healthy people under 65 might need a doctor\u2019s prescription to get the shot. If they successfully get a prescription, they may need to pay out-of-pocket.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What was the status quo for years \u2014 that most Americans, regardless of age, could easily make an appointment at their local pharmacy for the vaccine at little to no out-of-pocket cost \u2014 is no longer guaranteed in the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n Limited Approval, No Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n The FDA\u2019s approval is not the only step in the process of making vaccines available to the public.<\/p>\n The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of independent experts that guides vaccine policy, has not voted on or issued current guidance. Typically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccines based on the panel\u2019s guidance<\/a>.<\/p>\n And that guidance affects insurance coverage and vaccine access. Federal law requires that most health insurance plans fully cover<\/a> vaccines recommended by the CDC. Some states<\/a> also require these recommendations before they allow vaccines to be offered over-the-counter at pharmacies.<\/p>\n On June 9, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC\u2019s immunization advisory committee and replaced some<\/a> with new members, many of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views. CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired<\/a> Aug. 27 over what Monarez described as a dispute about vaccine policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the CDC\u2019s website, the advisory panel is scheduled to meet<\/a> Sept. 18 to 19.<\/p>\n Access Varies by State<\/strong><\/p>\n People in the FDA-approved groups should be able to schedule vaccinations as soon as authorized health care providers receive supplies, likely in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t be able to offer the vaccine or will administer it only with a doctor\u2019s prescription until the CDC\u2019s vaccine advisory panel issues its recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\n That means despite the FDA having issued its approval for some groups, in 18 states and Washington, D.C., \u201cpharmacists cannot administer it because it isn\u2019t on the CDC immunization schedule yet,\u201d Brigid Groves, the American Pharmacists Association\u2019s vice president of professional affairs, previously told PolitiFact<\/a>.<\/p>\n As of Sept. 4, the scheduling apps for Walgreens and CVS notified patients in some locations that they could not schedule a covid vaccine appointment because of state restrictions, inventory, or the need for a prescription.<\/p>\n \u2018Off-Label\u2019 Prescriptions<\/strong><\/p>\n People not in the FDA\u2019s approved group are not banned from getting a covid vaccine, per se. But accessing the vaccine will likely require navigating barriers.<\/p>\n Doctors can legally prescribe a covid vaccine for people who fall outside the FDA categories.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true for adults and children \u2014 and the practice of prescribing medications and vaccines for \u201coff-label\u201d use is fairly common in pediatrics, William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor of infectious diseases, previously told<\/a> PolitiFact.<\/p>\n That requires making and paying for a doctor\u2019s appointment, and finding a doctor willing to prescribe it off-label.<\/p>\n Depending on ACIP\u2019s guidance, pharmacists might be able to vaccinate people not in an FDA-approved group through a process called \u201cshared clinical decision-making<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n That means, for example, \u201cif you were 52 years old and otherwise healthy, but you nonetheless wanted to get the vaccine, you could discuss that with your doctor \u2014 shared clinical decision-making \u2014 and you could receive the vaccine,\u201d Schaffner said.<\/p>\n Pharmacists are considered clinicians who can conduct shared decision-making, Groves said.<\/p>\n But again, without CDC recommendations, \u201cwe don\u2019t know if that provision is still there,\u201d Schaffner said.<\/p>\n Waiting on the CDC<\/strong><\/p>\n Insurance coverage for the vaccine is still up in the air, too, and will largely depend on what the CDC recommends.<\/p>\n 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 said.<\/p>\n Covid vaccines cost about $142, according to the CDC\u2019s price lists<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear whether that would be the out-of-pocket cost for patients receiving a covid vaccine not covered by insurance.<\/p>\n Our Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy said \u201ceverybody can get\u201d a covid vaccine.<\/p>\n The FDA limited the groups of people eligible for the covid vaccines, which has already diminished the shots\u2019 drugstore availability in some states. People who are not in those groups aren\u2019t banned from getting a shot, but are likely to face additional barriers. For example, people may need a doctor to prescribe the vaccine \u201coff-label,\u201d making the process more challenging and potentially more costly.<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s blanket statement also is premature.<\/p>\n A CDC vaccine panel has not issued recommendations for the vaccines. The group\u2019s guidance might affect insurance coverage and over-the-counter access.<\/p>\n The statement contains an element of truth \u2014 the vaccine has not been banned and some people are approved to get it. But it ignores critical facts about the barriers others could face in accessing and paying for it. We rate it Mostly False.<\/p>\n PolitiFact staff writer Madison Czopek contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n Email statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, Sept. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n PolitiFact, \u201cCan I Get an Updated COVID-19 Vaccine This Year? Is It Available Yet? Will Insurance Cover It?<\/a>\u201d Aug. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n X post<\/a>, Aug. 27, 2025.<\/p>\n Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201cACIP Recommendations<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 8, 2025.<\/p>\n NBC News, \u201cFor Some, Fall Covid Shots May Come With Copays \u2014 Or No Coverage at All<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n PBS NewsHour, \u201cCan You Get a COVID Shot? Here\u2019s Your Fall Vaccine Guide<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n USA Today, \u201cRFK Jr., the CDC and Confusing Vaccine Recommendations. What To Know Right Now<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n PolitiFact, \u201cRFK Jr. Fired Everyone on a Key Vaccine Panel. Here\u2019s Who He Replaced Them With<\/a>,\u201d June 18, 2025.<\/p>\n The Washington Post, \u201cWhite House Fires CDC Director Who Says RFK Jr. Is \u2018Weaponizing Public Health,\u2019<\/a>\u201d Aug. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, \u201cCDC Director Fired After She \u2018Refused To Rubber-Stamp\u2019 Kennedy\u2019s Vaccine Directives<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201cACIP Meeting Information<\/a>,\u201d June 18, 2025.<\/p>\n Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201cACIP Shared Clinical Decision-Making Recommendations<\/a>,\u201d Jan. 7, 2025.<\/p>\n Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Current CDC Vaccine Price List<\/a>, Sept. 1, 2025.<\/p>\n PBS News, \u201cCan You Get a COVID Shot? Here\u2019s Your Fall Vaccine Guide<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nOur Sources<\/h4>\n
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