States can soon access covid vaccines for low-income children, after delay

The Vaccines for Children program, which serves nearly half the nation’s youths, had been in limbo for almost a month, with doctors unable to obtain the shots.

The Vaccines for Children program, which serves nearly half the nation’s youths, had been in limbo for almost a month, with doctors unable to obtain the shots.

States will soon be able to access updated coronavirus vaccines through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program serving nearly half the nation’s children after it had been in limbo for nearly a month, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Doctors have been unable to obtain shots for low-income children as infections rise in parts of the country even though the Food and Drug Administration had approved the updated vaccine last month. States are expected to be able to start ordering shots through the Vaccines for Children program, which is administered by the CDC, as soon as Wednesday or Thursday, the people said.

The Vaccines for Children program serves children on Medicaid and those without adequate insurance, among others. Opening orders for states would clear a key hurdle, although providers would still need to receive shipments before administering doses. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately comment on the prospect of coronavirus vaccine ordering beginning soon.

At the same time, the practice has been able to order vaccine for children covered by private insurance. “The idea of having an inequity in my practice, for some patients to be able to get the shots and some patients are not, that’s a gut punch for people like me,” Greenhouse said.

CDC career officials had previously completed preparations to make the vaccines available, leaving what people familiar with the process described as essentially pushing a button to open ordering, according to two other people familiar with the matter. But the shots had not yet been made available. Participating doctors say they would normally have vaccinated dozens of children in their practices by now.

Opening orders would clear a key hurdle, although providers would still need to receive shipments before administering doses. A spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Health said earlier Wednesday that the state had been told “that CDC leadership approval is needed before distribution of the vaccine can begin.” This is a developing story and will be updated.