COVID-19 Vaccines Transition to Commercial Markets

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a statement confirming when and explaining how the new COVID-19 vaccines will be available after September 2023.

The CDC stated on July 6, 2023, the new monovalent XBB.1.5 composition vaccines will be the first COVID-19 vaccines to be available directly from the pharmaceutical manufacturers as part of the commercial market rather than through the United States Government (USG).

It is anticipated that USG will stop the regular threshold/replenishment ordering mechanism for all COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies on August 3, 2023.

Providers are encouraged to place necessary orders before that cutoff date.

Suppose a provider requires additional supply to be responsive to demand after USG closes the current ordering mechanism. In that case, COVID-19 vaccines will remain available for ordering via the established out-of-cycle request process.

The public will continue to be directed to Vaccines.gov to find providers offering COVID-19 vaccines.

CDC will provide access to COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured individuals once COVID-19 vaccines become commercially available.

Uninsured children can receive COVID-19 vaccines through the existing Vaccines for Children program.

And uninsured adults can receive COVID-19 vaccines through a new temporary program called the Bridge Access Program for COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments.

As of July 7, 2023, more than 304.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and reported by Federal Retail Pharmacy Program participants in the US. This includes 8 million doses administered onsite to long-term care facilities in the early days of the COVID-19 vaccination program.

Furthermore, detail on the current recommended vaccine schedules for each age group can be found on the CDC website.