COVID Jabs, Treatments to Be Moved to US Private Markets in 2023

August 31, 2022 Elizabeta Bozinovska Health

Pfizer and BioNTech revealed that a supplemental dose of their coronavirus vaccine restored complete protection — Image credit: EPA

Americans will have to obtain Covid-19 vaccines and treatments through insurers or pay for them out-of-pocket as soon as January 2023 since the Biden administration plans to move them to the private markets once its supply runs out.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday that the US government – which expects its supply of jabs and antiviral treatments to run out over the next year – is preparing for jabs and antiviral treatments to be sold via the commercial market.

Marking a new phase in fighting the pandemic, the move is another sign that the officials believe the acute emergency phase of the pandemic is ending but also shows the government’s lack of funds for purchasing and providing COVID-19 shots and therapeutics.

This means that these processes will work more like the rest of the healthcare system, instead of the government playing the leading role.

U.S. health officials convened a meeting of more than

According to Dawn O’Connell, who heads the HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the government’s plans to transition sales of COVID jabs and therapeutics to the private market were discussed during Tuesday’s meeting of over 100 representatives from state and local health departments, drugmakers, health providers and insurers.

O’Connell, which is also an assistant secretary of HHS, noted that the plans were always to transition this work to private markets though the process was accelerated in the past six months because Congress failed to provide funding for the government to purchase more vaccines and treatments.

She stressed that funding is urgently needed for next-generation COVID vaccines, therapies, and tests.

Americans who are uninsured could face additional challenges getting access to vaccines and treatments paid for by private insurers knowing that the US government was paying between $15 and $30 per dose, depending on the size of the supply agreement, while Eli Lilly’s COVID antibody treatment had the list price of $2,100 per dose.