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

By Grace Abels PolitiFact and Maria Ramirez Uribe PolitiFact KFF Wellness News Everybody can get the COVID- vaccine Robert F Kennedy Jr on Sept in a Senate Finance Committee hearing When strength 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 commented that Sen Elizabeth Warren D-Mass requested 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 strength condition that increases their menace of a severe COVID infection Kennedy pushed back Anybody can get the booster he revealed later adding that it s not recommended for healthy people Warren disclosed If you don t recommend then the consequence of that in a multitude of 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 noted But they can still get it Everybody can get it Everybody can get it senator Petitioned for evidence the Vitality and Human Services Department pointed to an Aug post on the social platform X from Kennedy that mentioned These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors Kennedy s blanket report to senators is misleading and premature Under current guidance healthy people under might need a professional 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 preponderance 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 society The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices a panel of independent experts that guides vaccine plan has not voted on or issued current guidance Typically the Centers for Malady Control and Prevention recommends vaccines based on the panel s guidance And that guidance affects insurance coverage and vaccine access Federal law requires that the bulk physical condition insurance plans fully cover vaccines recommended by the CDC Several 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 certain with new members a great number of of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired Aug over what Monarez described as a dispute about vaccine protocol 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 soundness care providers receive supplies likely in the next limited 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 specialist s prescription until the CDC s vaccine advisory panel issues its recommendations That means despite the FDA having issued its approval for a few 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 notified 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 barricades 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 Medicinal Center professor of infectious diseases previously informed PolitiFact That requires making and paying for a expert s appointment and finding a professional 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 medical professional shared clinical decision-making and you could receive the vaccine Schaffner disclosed Pharmacists are considered clinicians who can conduct shared decision-making Groves noted But again without CDC recommendations we don t know if that provision is still there Schaffner disclosed 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 stated 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 noted 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 a few states People who are not in those groups aren t banned from getting a shot but are likely to face additional limitations For example people may need a physician to prescribe the vaccine off-label making the process more challenging and potentially more costly Kennedy s blanket report 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 declaration contains an element of truth the vaccine has not been banned and particular people are approved to get it But it ignores critical facts about the restrictions others could face in accessing and paying for it We rate it Mostly False PolitiFact staff writer Madison Czopek contributed to this overview KFF Vitality News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC