As FDA clears second COVID booster for adults 50 and over, questions remain over who will pay

In the fight against the pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a new round of Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for adults who are 50 or over.

But Dr. Celine Gounder, senior fellow and editor-at-large for Public Health at Kaiser Health News, told CBS News there are questions about both the effectiveness of the additional shots and who will pay for them. 

“I am very skeptical that giving everybody over the age of 50 a fourth dose will have a real impact in the long term on reducing severe disease, hospitalization and death,” she said.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant now makes up most of the new COVID-19 infections nationwide. 

The FDA has authorized an optional second booster shot for immunocompromised people who are 12 and older. Next week, it will consider whether the general population should become eligible. 

“If at some point, it becomes recommended that the full population requires a fourth shot, we’re going to need additional funding,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said.  
  
The federal government has already run out of money to pay for testing and treatment of uninsured Americans and next week will stop reimbursing uninsured individuals for the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations. 
 
“This really does beg the question: where should we focus our limited resources? Is it on providing fourth doses or is it on other measures, for example, making sure we vaccinate people who may not have even had a single dose yet?” Gounder asked. 

Democrats are trying to pass more COVID-19 funding after Republicans demanded it be cut out of a larger spending bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hoped to reach an agreement very soon — something President Biden will likely push for.