Medicare and Medicaid to cover early COVID-19 vaccine under “emergency authorization” at no cost.
耆英醫療保險和Medicaid將免費提供在“緊急授權”下的COVID-19疫苗。
The Federal government will announce this week a plan to cover the out-of-pocket costs of Covid-19 vaccines for millions of Americans who receive Medicare or Medicaid emergency use authorization from the FDA, which is a change from current policy, said four people with knowledge of the pending announcement. At least two Covid-19 vaccine developers have said they plan to apply for an emergency use authorization before the end of the year. The administration is “working to ensure that no American has to pay for the vaccine,” said one official. The administration's planned rule also will address other Covid-19-related issues, like expanding flexibility for Medicaid patients seeking care for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the plan said.
聯邦政府本週將宣布一項計劃，而且是當前政策的一個變化。聯邦政府將為數百萬從FDA獲得耆英醫療保險或Medicaid的緊急授權的美國人支付Covid-19疫苗的自付費用，據悉與四位知情人士。
至少有兩家Covid-19疫苗開發商表示，他們計劃在今年年底之前申請緊急使用授權。
一位官員說，美國政府正在“努力確保每位美國人能夠獲得免費疫苗”。兩位知情人士稱，政府的計劃規則還將解決與Covid-19相關的其他問題，例如為尋求冠狀病毒治療的Medicaid患者提供更多機會。 When could you get your shots? 什麼時候可以注射？
Gov. Gavin Newsom made a statement last week for anyone hoping to get the vaccine in 2020: the majority of Californians will likely have to wait to get vaccinated until the second half of 2021.
Though the President has promised a vaccine in the coming weeks, the California Department of Public Health’s draft COVID-19 vaccination planning report pushes the general public into the last stages of distribution.
Though Moderna and Pfizer are optimistic they can produce a vaccine the end of the year, the distribution will be a logistically challenging process.
Newsom said the initial supply will cover only about 1 to 1.5 million Californians, a sliver of the roughly 40 million people who call the Golden State home.
Understand the phases of distribution:
1. HEALTH CARE WORKERS
2. ‘CRITICAL POPULATIONS’: at-risk people and essential workers who couldn’t get vaccinated during the first round, nursing homes employees, correctional facilities, those with disabilities and underserved Latino, Black and rural communities.
3. EVERYONE ELSE: “open access to vaccination” phase, when enough vaccines will be available for the entire population.
州長加Gavin Newsom上周向所有希望在2020年獲得疫苗的人發表聲明：大多數加利福尼亞人可能不得不等到2021年下半年才可以開始接種疫苗。
儘管總統已承諾在未來幾週內提供疫苗，但加利福尼亞公共衛生部的COVID-19疫苗接種計劃報告草稿將普通民眾分配在了最後階段。
儘管Moderna和Pfizer樂觀地表示，他們可以在年底生產疫苗，但分發注射將仍是一個生產疫苗後的難題。
Newsom說，最初的供應量將僅覆蓋大約1至1.5萬million 加利福尼亞人，這在約有4000萬人稱為Golden State的加州只占一小部分。
了解分發注射階段：
1.保健工作者
2.“關鍵人群”：在第一輪中無法接種疫苗的高危人群和基本工人，療養院的員工，教養所，殘疾人士以及拉丁裔，黑人和農村社區服務水平低下的區域。
3.其他每個人：在“開放接種”階段，屆時將為整個人群提供足夠的疫苗。 Source: https://politi.co/34FyX5N