Washington.— The Biden administration plans to invest more than a billion dollars in a new program to offer free coronavirus vaccines to Americans without health insurance, since the vaccines will be commercially available at the end of this year, as reported by administration officials on Tuesday.
The program for the uninsured, which will be similar in part to an existing childhood immunization program and will reach some 30 million people, will include a partnership with pharmacy chains that will be paid by the government for the administrative costs of applying them. doses to patients.
Pfizer and Moderna have pledged to offer the vaccines free to people without health insurance.
The administration’s move partly closes a crucial gap in the country’s coronavirus strategy ahead of a new vaccination campaign using boosted formulas that is likely to start as soon as late summer.
Federal officials have said they no longer plan to buy doses for all Americans as they did in previous vaccination campaigns against the virus, allowing the vaccines to be sold and giving manufacturers permission to set their prices.
This new vaccine initiative comes as the administration is anticipating a public health emergency over the coronavirus, which was first declared during President Donald J. Trump’s term in 2020 and extended into President Biden’s term.
The administration plans for the emergency to expire on May 11, which would see the country treated for Covid-19 like any other respiratory disease, such as influenza.
