The federal government’s Bridge Access Program unveiled last year in anticipation of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ending along with free coronavirus vaccines and treatments.
It worked by partnering with pharmacies — CVS, Walgreens and eTrueNorth — to provide vaccines to the uninsured. The program was set to last until the end of this year, but the CDC said this week its expiration has been expedited to August.
The program has provided more than 1.4 million free COVID-19 vaccines since it launched in September 2023 at a cost of more than $1 billion. There are an estimated 25-30 million uninsured adults in the U.S.
“Due to Congressional rescissions of COVID-19 funds in the FY 2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, difficult decisions had to be made about the future of CDC activities supported by those funds,” a CDC spokesperson told The Hill.
The FY 2024 government funding bill rescinded unobligated COVID-19 funding. But according to CDC, the agency was planning to use its share of that money to support the upcoming Fall 2024 respiratory virus season, “including purchase of updated vaccines and the underlying infrastructure to distribute, administer, and promote uptake.”
“After August, there may be a small amount of free vaccine available through health department immunization programs, but supply would be very limited,” the spokesman said.
The Food and Drug Administration is meeting next month to discuss choosing the next strains to target with this year’s SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. While the CDC is advocating for a Vaccines for Adults proposal included in the White House’s budget request, the appropriations process won’t be complete in time for the fall vaccine rollout.
