CVS Health to Offer Coverage for Moderna COVID-19 Booster Shot

CVS Health has announced that it will offer Moderna COVID-19 booster shots to eligible individuals at more than 9,800 pharmacy locations.

The CDC, following guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, recently recommended Johnson & Johnson and Moderna booster shots for individuals who previously received any FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine.

CVS Health is also covering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot, which the FDA authorized for eligible populations in September 2021.

The CDC recommended that people 65 years and older and long-term care facility residents who received Moderna or Pfizer vaccines at least six months ago should get a booster shot. Individuals between 50 and 64 years old who have medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease should also receive a booster if it has been six months since their initial vaccine series.

Individuals between 18 and 49 years old who have high-risk health conditions are also eligible for a Moderna booster shot six months after their mRNA initial vaccine series.

People between 18 and 64 years old can receive a Moderna booster shot if they live or work in an area that puts them at high risk for COVID-19 exposure and if they have received their first mRNA vaccine series at least six months ago.

CVS Health is also offering Moderna and Pfizer booster shots to anyone ages 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine at least two months ago. The CDC has stated that mixing and matching different doses for COVID-19 booster shots is safe.

Individuals can schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 booster shot or an initial vaccine at CVS.com or on the CVS app. They will need to provide the date of their last COVID-19 vaccine, and which type of vaccine they received. They will also have to self-attest that they meet the eligibility guidelines for the dose for which they are signing up.

“The systems we’ve built and our deep experience in providing vaccinations allows us to play a leading role in administering booster shots to eligible populations,” Troyen Brennan, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health, stated in the press release. “We also remain focused on providing easy and convenient opportunities for the unvaccinated to receive their first doses.”

Individuals can also schedule a flu shot appointment on the CVS website, which they can receive at the same time as their COVID-19 vaccine or booster, per CDC guidance.

CVS Health is offering both Moderna and Pfizer booster shots and initial vaccine series and will offer COVID-19 vaccines to children between ages 5 and 11 once the FDA has authorized it. The healthcare giant has administered more than 34 million COVID-19 vaccines, with the help of more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and nurse practitioners across their network.

CVS Health’s commitment to cover COVID-19 booster shots follows the CMS announcement to offer boosters to immunocompromised individuals with no cost-sharing.

Shortly after the FDA recommended that all individuals with underlying health conditions receive a COVID-19 booster shot, CMS said that Medicare would reimburse providers for the shot at the same rate as the other COVID-19 vaccine doses.

The agency also confirmed that eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries could receive COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots with no-cost sharing.

CVS Health’s move to offer free COVID-19 booster shots also builds upon their past initiatives to increase access to vaccines, including partnering with Lyft to provide transportation to vaccine appointments and administering vaccines at workplace vaccination sites.