+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Americans who aren't eligible for a COVID-19 booster are getting the shot no questions asked in pharmacies and doctors' offices

Sep 30, 2021, 21:10 IST
Business Insider
Debbie Bonnett administers a COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up clinic at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans on August 14, 2021. Mario Tama/Getty Images
  • Americans who aren't eligible for a booster shot are getting it without proof of eligibility.
  • Pharmacies and doctors' offices aren't asking questions, the Wall Street Journal reported.
  • President Joe Biden on Friday said about 60 million Americans are eligible for a booster shot.
Advertisement

Americans who aren't eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot are getting it without showing proof of eligibility in pharmacies and doctors' offices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Patients seeking a booster shot told the Journal that pharmacies weren't looking for confirmation of eligibility, or without any questions asked from either the pharmacist or the online scheduling tools.

Debbie Hirsch, a 67-year-old retired teacher, told the Journal she was given a third Moderna shot at a CVS in New York by a pharmacist who didn't ask her any eligibility questions.

She listed herself as immunocompromised on the CVS website when she signed up, even though she doesn't actually qualify, the report said.

Lauch Hines, a 75-year-old retirement adviser in South Carolina, claimed local pharmacies said to just show up with her vaccine card, the Journal reported. And Michele Cozadd, a 46-year-old former technologist from Ohio, told the Journal she was given her booster shot without any questions from her pharmacist.

Advertisement

She said the scheduling app didn't ask her if she was at risk or had a pre-existing condition, the report said.

"Some of the demand we're seeing for boosters is the shadow of policies we've had before that failed to mitigate the spread of Covid," Neil Sehgal, a professor of health policy at the University of Maryland, told the Journal. "Thousands of people are still dying each day.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he added.

Despite more than a month of messy debate around boosters, most adults in the US who got the Pfizer vaccine are eligible to get an extra shot, Insider previously reported.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Food and Drug Administration recommended the booster shot for qualifying groups.

Advertisement

But only those with select medical conditions like immunodeficiency or a recent organ transplant can get a booster of the Moderna shot.

President Joe Biden on Friday said about 60 million Americans are eligible for a booster shot, or they will be soon.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article