CMS alert: Eligible individuals can get second COVID-19 booster at no cost

Editor's Note

On April 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a news alert that it will pay for a second COVID-19 booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines without cost sharing for all eligible individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated that certain immunocompromised individuals and people ages 50 years and older who received the first booster dose at least four months ago are eligible for another booster shot.

The CDC also recommends that adults who received the vaccine and booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least four months ago can receive a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the news alert, eligible individuals covered by Medicare pay nothing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and people with Medicaid coverage can also get COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, at no cost.

“The COVID-19 vaccine, including the booster doses, is the best defense against severe illness, hospitalization and death from the virus,” CMS stated.