Rfk Jr. Said ‘everybody Can Get’ A Covid Vaccine. Is That True?

When wellness caput Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified earlier nan Senate Finance Committee connected Sept. 4, respective senators criticized him for restricting nan covid-19 shots aft promising successful November he wouldn't “take distant anybody's vaccines.”

“Did you clasp up a large motion saying that you were lying erstwhile you said that?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Kennedy.

On Aug. 27, nan FDA updated its covid vaccine guidance, limiting nan groups of group approved to get nan updated changeable to anyone 65 aliases older and immoderate personification astatine slightest 6 months aged who has astatine slightest 1 underlying wellness information that increases their consequence of a terrible covid infection.

Kennedy pushed back. “Anybody tin get nan booster,” he said, later adding that “it's not recommended for patient people.”

Warren said, “If you don’t recommend, past nan consequence of that successful galore states is that you can’t locomotion into a drugstore and get one. It intends security companies don’t person to screen nan $200 aliases truthful cost.”

Warren and Kennedy continued to speak complete each other, debating nan vaccines' availability.

“It depends connected nan states,” Kennedy said. “But they tin still get it. Everybody tin get it. Everybody tin get it, senator.”

Asked for evidence, nan Health and Human Services Department pointed to an Aug. 27 station connected nan societal level X from Kennedy that said, “These vaccines are disposable for each patients who take them aft consulting pinch their doctors.”

Kennedy's broad connection to senators is misleading and premature.

Under existent guidance, patient group nether 65 mightiness request a doctor's medicine to get nan shot. If they successfully get a prescription, they whitethorn request to salary out-of-pocket.

Further, whether nan vaccine is disposable astatine pharmacies and covered by security is mostly limited connected a vaccine sheet that has truthful acold issued nary recommendations.

What was nan position quo for years — that astir Americans, sloppy of age, could easy make an assignment astatine their section drugstore for nan vaccine astatine small to nary out-of-pocket costs — is nary longer guaranteed successful nan 2025-26 season.

Limited approval, nary guidance

The FDA's support is not nan only measurement successful nan process of making vaccines disposable to nan public.

The Advisory Committee connected Immunization Practices, a sheet of independent experts that guides vaccine policy, has not voted connected aliases issued existent guidance. Typically, nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccines based connected nan panel's guidance.

And that guidance affects security sum and vaccine access. Federal rule requires that astir wellness security plans afloat screen vaccines recommended by nan CDC. Some states besides require these recommendations earlier they let vaccines to beryllium offered over-the-counter astatine pharmacies.

On June 9, Kennedy fired each 17 members of nan CDC's immunization advisory committee and replaced immoderate pinch caller members, galore of whom person expressed anti-vaccine views. CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired Aug. 27 complete what Monarez described arsenic a conflict astir vaccine policy.

According to nan CDC's website, nan advisory sheet is scheduled to meet Sept. 18 to 19.

Access varies by state

People successful nan FDA-approved groups should beryllium capable to schedule vaccinations arsenic soon arsenic authorized wellness attraction providers person supplies, apt successful nan adjacent fewer weeks.

Even if you are successful these approved groups, wherever you tin get a covid changeable varies by state. By law, pharmacies successful definite states won't beryllium capable to connection nan vaccine aliases will administer it only pinch a doctor's medicine until nan CDC's vaccine advisory sheet issues its recommendations.

That intends contempt nan FDA having issued its support for immoderate groups, successful 18 states and Washington, D.C., “pharmacists cannot administer it because it isn't connected nan CDC immunization schedule yet,” Brigid Groves, nan American Pharmacists Association's vice president of master affairs, antecedently told PolitiFact.

As of Sept. 4, nan scheduling apps for Walgreens and CVS notified patients successful immoderate locations that they could not schedule a covid vaccine assignment because of authorities restrictions, inventory, aliases nan request for a prescription.

'Off-label' prescriptions

People not successful nan FDA's approved group are not banned from getting a covid vaccine, per se. But accessing nan vaccine will apt require navigating barriers.

Doctors tin legally prescribe a covid vaccine for group who autumn extracurricular nan FDA categories.

That's existent for adults and children — and nan believe of prescribing medications and vaccines for “off-label” usage is reasonably communal successful pediatrics, William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor of infectious diseases, antecedently told PolitiFact.

That requires making and paying for a doctor's appointment, and uncovering a expert consenting to prescribe it off-label.

Depending connected ACIP's guidance, pharmacists mightiness beryllium capable to vaccinate group not successful an FDA-approved group done a process called “shared objective decision-making.”

That means, for example, “if you were 52 years aged and different healthy, but you nevertheless wanted to get nan vaccine, you could talk that pinch your expert — shared objective decision-making — and you could person nan vaccine,” Schaffner said.

Pharmacists are considered clinicians who tin behaviour shared decision-making, Groves said.

But again, without CDC recommendations, “we don’t cognize if that proviso is still there,” Schaffner said.

Waiting connected nan CDC

Insurance sum for nan vaccine is still up successful nan air, too, and will mostly dangle connected what nan CDC recommends.

Insurance sum is much probable for group successful an FDA-approved category. But, if nan CDC recommendations see giving vaccines to patient group done nan shared objective decision-making process, security companies will mostly grant that, Schaffner said.

Covid vaccines costs astir $142, according to nan CDC's value lists. It's unclear whether that would beryllium nan out-of-pocket costs for patients receiving a covid vaccine not covered by insurance.

Our ruling

Kennedy said “everybody tin get” a covid vaccine.

The FDA constricted nan groups of group eligible for nan covid vaccines, which has already diminished nan shots' drugstore readiness successful immoderate states. People who are not successful those groups aren't banned from getting a shot, but are apt to look further barriers. For example, group whitethorn request a expert to prescribe nan vaccine “off-label,” making nan process much challenging and perchance much costly.

Kennedy's broad connection besides is premature.

A CDC vaccine sheet has not issued recommendations for nan vaccines. The group's guidance mightiness impact security sum and over-the-counter access.

The connection contains an constituent of truth — nan vaccine has not been banned and immoderate group are approved to get it. But it ignores captious facts astir nan barriers others could look successful accessing and paying for it. We complaint it Mostly False.

PolitiFact unit writer Madison Czopek contributed to this report.