A new COVID-19 booster vaccine approved in mid-September has yet to make its way to Kaiser Permanente facilities, but that should be changing soon.
The Oakland-based healthcare provider said Friday afternoon that booster shots will be coming online Monday, Sept. 25. An email sent to Kaiser members at 5 p.m. said vaccine appointments would begin Sept. 28 for members 12 years and older.
“Appointments for children under 12 will become available as we receive supply,” the email reads.
Walk-in vaccinations also will be available in select locations, Kaiser wrote, but it didn’t clarify where.
“We will begin administering updated COVID-19 vaccines in most areas we serve … and possibly earlier at some locations,” Kaiser told the Southern California News Group earlier Friday.
Also see: Kaiser’s 75,000 union employees to strike Oct. 4 if no deal struck
The FDA on Sept. 11 approved updated boosters from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for people ages 12 and older. Younger people can get the shots under an emergency use order.
The latest vaccines are aimed at a subvariant of COVID called the XBB.1.5 Omicron and other closely related strains of the coronavirus.
Some Kaiser members have been anxious to get their boosters, the first available since fall 2022.
The lack of availability erupted on Twitter where Kaiser members expressed their frustration, noting their healthcare provider had no boosters and was no longer participating with drugstores for the shots.
“I have Kaiser Permanente insurance but they don’t have it available yet so I made appt (sic) at Walgreens,” wrote user Ben Ross. “Walgreens said I had to get it through Kaiser and wouldn’t even let me pay out of pocket!”
Another Kaiser member was able to get a booster at CVS but paid $190 for it.
Appointment line operators told at least one Kaiser member that the COVID booster would be available by late September or early October.
Booster shots and vaccines are free through an insurance provider or with participating drugstores connected to those healthcare providers. The policy shifted when federal funding ended after the pandemic’s emergency order was lifted earlier this year.
Also see: Huntington Beach wants to declare itself a ‘no mask and no vaccine mandate’ city
Kaiser is not part of the drugstore booster program and recommends members use company facilities for the boosters. The cost is free when using a Kaiser facility, the company said.
A federal expert panel recommends everyone over the age of 6 months get the latest booster. Only 17% of the US population got the last booster compared with the roughly half who got the first booster in fall 2021.
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