"At 38 weeks pregnant with her second child, Hannah Robb has no time to waste on red tape. Yet she's lost hours in her struggle to figure out whether and when she can get a COVID booster. Her doctor said she could-and should, she told me. "It's hard to know what's right and what's wrong until you show up to the pharmacy and see what they'll do," Robb told me."
"Similar scenes are playing out at drugstores across the country. The Trump administration's recent swerves in COVID-vaccine policy have left many Americans-including pharmacists and physicians-confused about where the shot will be available, who is eligible to receive it, and who will be covered by insurance. Pregnancy raises the stakes of that confusion: Pregnant women face an elevated risk of becoming severely ill from COVID, as do newborns, who cannot be immunized against the coronavirus before they're six months old."
The Trump administration's recent changes to COVID-vaccine policy have created widespread confusion about where updated boosters are available, who qualifies, and how insurance will cover them. Pharmacy chains, local clinics, and physicians have offered inconsistent guidance, leaving patients to navigate differing prescription requirements and potential out-of-pocket costs. Pregnant women face higher stakes because they have increased risk of severe COVID illness and newborns remain unprotected until six months of age. The prior approval process flowed from FDA review to CDC recommendations and then state implementation, but recent federal shifts have disrupted that pathway and complicated access and coverage decisions.
Read at The Atlantic
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