Under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., government policies surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine have changed dramatically, casting new doubts on its availability and cost in the coming months.

This past week, Kennedy announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was pulling its recommendation for routine COVID booster shots for “healthy” pregnant women and children. This came not long after the agency also pulled the recommendation for any adults younger than 65 without at least one condition that puts them at high-risk for a more severe infection. How the government defines “healthy” in this context is still unclear. Notably, pregnancy is considered a high-risk condition in and of itself. Other conditions currently include asthma, cancer and diabetes. The CDC later contradicted Kennedy’s announcement, stating that healthy children, ages 6 months to 17 years old, can get COVID shots after receiving “the clinical judgment of a health-care provider.”

Set against the broader concern about Kennedy’s history of anti-vaccine beliefs, these moves have caused renewed concern about the ability of Americans who want them to get COVID boosters, especially ahead of fall and winter when infection rates are known to increase. According to data from the CDC itself, about 70% of Americans were considered fully vaccinated against COVID as of May 2023. 

These boosters are still desirable for many Americans, however, particularly for those who might be considered healthy themselves but live with high-risk friends or family. Putting barriers in the way of COVID vaccination could also increase the risks of variant strains developing and spreading among more individuals.

If you’re concerned or intrigued about what these moves against vaccine recommendations might mean for you, keep reading. For more, find out what Novavax might mean for the cost of COVID-19 vaccines.

What does ending COVID vaccine recommendations mean?

Hearing that the government has ended certain vaccine “recommendations” might seem a little vague but there are a few important ramifications to keep in mind.

For starters, ending the recommendation for a vaccine would remove it from the required immunization schedule for children, although the CDC’s contradiction of Kennedy’s initial announcement has muddied things on this count. For the time being, it seems that the ability of kids to get updated COVID shots is nominally safe.

More pressingly for most healthy adults who might want to get regular booster shots, government recommendations are typically used by health insurance companies to decide which shots they will cover and for whom. So in effect, you might still be able to seek out a booster shot for yourself or your child, but now it could cost you.

How much will a COVID-19 booster shot cost?

It’s hard to say for certain how every individual insurance company will react to these decisions from the CDC but should your provider choose to end coverage for booster shots, you’ll have to pay to get one.

As for how much that will cost you, that’s another thing we can’t know for sure right now, but you should expect it to be in the ballpark of a couple hundred dollars. According to CVS’s webpage, the pharmacy chain charges at least $199 for a COVID vaccine shot that is not covered by insurance. For the time being, the company says they are free of charge with insurance.

For more info about staying safe, find out how to check if your at-home COVID tests are expired.