This photo provided by Pfizer in August 2025 shows a vial of the updated COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty. Pfizer image
With fall here and winter around the corner, medical experts say COVID-19 is once again rising in several states across the country.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 states are reporting “high” or “very high” levels of the disease.
That includes Indiana. While there are vaccines currently available to combat the effects of the illness, some in the medical community say recent developments in the recommendations of those vaccines have left people feeling a bit confused. That, they say, could have dangerous results.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
“Today, we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda. … A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”
Those were just a few of the words written by United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy during an agency media release last June.
Kennedy’s comment came in response to his decision to remove 17 sitting members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, also known as the ACIP.
According to the CDC website, the ACIP is a group of medical and public health experts that “develop recommendations on how to use vaccines” to control various diseases in the United States.
One of those vaccines is the COVID-19 vaccine.
Earlier this month, during a two-day meeting, the newly appointed ACIP members met and approved changes regarding recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine, such as how the vaccine will be administered and who will ultimately be able to get it.
Unanimously approved by the ACIP panel was the recommendation allowing the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to people ages 65 and older, as well as those who are immunocompromised.
But it was a second unanimous recommendation that some in the medical community and public health field say has caused the confusion.
According to ACIP’s recommendations, anyone younger than 65 can still obtain a COVID-19 vaccine if they speak with their primary physician or a pharmacist first, a process called “shared clinical decision-making.”
ACIP’s recent recommendations came a few weeks after the Food and Drug Administration announced it had rescinded emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine.
That move essentially meant the FDA approved updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccine, but only to certain groups of people like those over 65.
The FDA’s guidance notes people ages 64 and younger with at least one underlying condition that puts them at higher risk of serious illness would also be able to get the vaccine.
The FDA’s guidance used to state any individual 6 months of age and older was eligible.
So how does the public navigate the COVID-19 vaccine confusion and make the best decision for them?
According to some Hoosier public health officials, a lot of it comes down to education.
A BARRIER TO ACCESS
Ann Lundy is the chief executive officer of Indiana Health Centers and while she admitted that IHC currently can vaccinate peopleagainst C OV I D 19, the demand for the shot really hasn’t been that high.
“We just haven’t had a lot of requests for it,” she said. “I think it has confused folks right now, and so that’s why we at IHC really put a high demand on that individual conversation between a patient and a provider.”
For those who don’t have physical access to a provider, Lundy said telehealth is always a possibility.
“We can always do video conferences and get access to a provider if that’s not an avenue for individuals,” she said. “People can also take a look at the Indiana Department of Health to see if they’re able to take some calls. That (clinician conversation) is always the best bet.”
But according to Sara Dillard, director of communications for the Indianapolis-based nonprofit Indiana Immunization Coalition, it’s not always that easy to do.
Since 2003, the Indiana Immunization Coalition has been on a mission to educate and advocate for vaccinations and immunizations.
Lately, Dillard said, she’s worried about what she calls “loud voices” surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I think it just creates another barrier to access,” Dillard said, referring to the recent recommendations and guidance by the CDC and FDA. “You have a vaccine that is sadly already controversial, and the waters are now being muddied.”
That breeds a sense of apathy toward getting the COVID-19 vaccine, Dillard added.
“Basically, people begin to think, ‘Why am I even going to bother? I don’t know who to listen to. They’re saying I need it. They’re saying I don’t. So I don’t know what to do.’” Then there’s the topic of the ACIP’s recommendation for shared clinical decision-making, something Dillard said can be difficult, especially if someone lives in a “healthcare desert.”
“Access is a huge issue,” she said. “For some people, it’s ‘I don’t have time to go talk to my doctor’ or ‘I don’t want to spend the money to go talk to my doctor’ or simply ‘I don’t have access to a doctor right now.’
“So it only puts another unnecessary step in the way of someone just going into one of our clinics or to the pharmacy and saying they need a shot or they need their booster,” Dillard added. “All of this just sews doubt.”
There’s also the topic of insurance.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, ACIP’s recommendation for the 65 and older crowd, or those who are immunocompromised, is broadly covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
Other individual plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace and the Vaccines for Children Program, which pays for low-income children, are also acceptable.
However, those on Medicaid could face challenges under the shared clinical-decision making recommendation (those younger than age 65 with no health risk factor).
Per officials, the typical COVID-19 vaccine can cost anywhere from $150 to $200 out of pocket.
It all adds up to what Dillard said is a proverbial mountain of a headache, but one with lives at stake.
“When we have loud voices who have large microphones muddying the waters and causing chaos, it has horrible negative effects,” Dillard said. “One dying is too many when we have a vaccine that can prevent that from happening.”
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