U.S. plans to stop buying Covid shots for the public this fall. Here's what that means for you
-The U.S. will transition the federal Covid vaccination program to the private market as soon as the fall.
-This means Pfizer and Moderna would sell the shots directly to health-care providers at a higher price.
-Americans who have health insurance would still get their Covid shots for free once the vaccine program goes commercial.
-But the uninsured may have to pay the full price of the shots after the current federal supply runs out.
-The federal vaccine program will not be affected by the end of the Covid public health emergency in May, the White House said.

美国计划在今年秋天停止为公众购买新冠疫苗。这对你意味着什么
——美国最快将于今年秋季将联邦疫苗接种计划向民间市场过渡。
——这意味着辉瑞和莫德纳将以更高的价格直接向医疗保健提供商出售疫苗。
——一旦疫苗项目商业化，拥有医疗保险的美国人仍将免费接种新冠疫苗。
——但在目前的联邦供应用完后，没有保险的人可能不得不支付疫苗的全价。
——白宫表示，联邦疫苗计划不会受到5月份新冠公共卫生紧急情况结束的影响。


（A pharmacist delivers a COVID-19 booster dose at a Chicago CVS store in October.）

（10月，一名药剂师在芝加哥便利店注射新冠疫苗增强针。）
新闻：

The U.S. will stop buying Covid shots at a reduced price for the entire country and shift vaccine distribution to the private market as soon as early fall, shifting the cost to U.S. insurers and uninsured Americans who stand to lose access to the free vaccines.

美国将停止在全国范围内以低价购买新冠疫苗，并于初秋将疫苗分销转移到私人市场，将成本转移到美国保险公司和没有保险的美国人身上，届时他们将无法获得免费疫苗。

Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid response coordinator, said in an an interview with UCSF Department of Medicine on Thursday that the shift to a private market will happen over the summer or early fall, though no exact date has been set.

白宫抗疫协调员阿什什·杰哈医生周四在接受加州大学旧金山分校医学系采访时表示，向私人市场的转变将在夏季或初秋发生，但具体日期尚未确定。

A senior official with the Health and Human Services Department told CNBC the fall would be a natural time to transition to a private market, particularly if the Food and Drug Administration sexts a new Covid strain for the vaccines and asks the manufacturers to produce upxed shots ahead of the respiratory virus season.

美国卫生与公众服务部的一名高级官员告诉CNBC，秋季将是过渡到私人市场的自然时机，特别是如果美国食品和药物管理局为疫苗选择一种新的新冠毒株，并要求制造商在呼吸道病毒季节之前生产更新的疫苗的话。
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For the past two years, the U.S. has bought the vaccines directly from Pfizer and Moderna at an average price of about $21 per dose, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

根据凯撒家庭基金会的数据，在过去两年里，美国直接从辉瑞和莫德纳购买疫苗，平均每剂价格约为21美元。

The federal government has required pharmacies, doctor's offices and hospitals to provide these shots for free to everyone regardless of their insurance status.

联邦政府要求药店、医生办公室和医院为所有人免费提供疫苗，无论他们的保险状况如何。

If you have health insurance

如果你有健康保险

When the federal Covid vaccination program ends, the shots will remain free for people who have health insurance due to requirements under the Affordable Care Act.

当联邦新冠疫苗接种计划结束时，根据《平价医疗法案》的要求，有健康保险的人将继续免费接种疫苗。

But uninsured adults may have to pay for their immunizations when Pfizer and Moderna start selling the shots on the private market and the current federal stockpile runs out. There is a federal program to provide free vaccines to children whose families or caretakers can't afford the shots.

但当辉瑞公司和莫德纳公司开始在私人市场上销售疫苗时，没有保险的成年人可能不得不为他们的免疫接种付费，而目前的联邦储备已经用完。有一项联邦计划为家庭或监护人负担不起的儿童提供免费疫苗。
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Jha said on Tuesday the planned switch is not tied to the end of the Covid public health emergency in May.

杰哈周二表示，这一计划的转变与5月份新冠公共卫生紧急情况的结束无关。

"The end of the PHE does NOT mean people will suddenly not be able to get the vaccines and treatments they need," Jha wrote in a Twitter thread on Tuesday.

杰哈周二在推特上写道：“公共卫生紧急情况的结束并不意味着人们将突然无法获得他们所需的疫苗和治疗。”

When the federal government no longer buys vaccines at a discount for the entire nation, individual health-care providers will purchase the shots from the vaccine makers at a higher price.

当联邦政府不再以全国范围内的折扣购买疫苗时，个人医疗保健提供商将以更高的价格从疫苗制造商那里购买疫苗。

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC last month that the company is preparing to sell the vaccines on the private market as early as this fall. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told investors during the company's earnings call this week that he is preparing for the vaccines to go commercial in the second half of the year.

莫德纳首席执行官史蒂芬·班赛尔上个月告诉CNBC，该公司准备最早于今年秋天在私人市场上销售疫苗。辉瑞首席执行官阿尔伯特·博拉在本周的公司收益电话会议上告诉投资者，他正在为疫苗在今年下半年商业化做准备。

Pfizer and Moderna have said they are considering hiking the price of the vaccines to somewhere around $110 to $130 per dose once the U.S. government pulls out of the vaccine program.

辉瑞和莫德纳表示，一旦美国政府退出疫苗计划，他们正在考虑将疫苗价格提高到每剂110美元至130美元左右。

If you're uninsured

如果你没有保险

"If you're uninsured, then you might be faced with the full cost," said Cynthia Cox, an expert on the Affordable Care Act at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“如果你没有保险，那么你可能要承担全部费用，”凯撒家庭基金会《合理医疗费用法案》专家辛西娅·考克斯说。

But the U.S. still has a substantial stockpile of free vaccines left. The Biden administration ordered 171 million omicron boosters last year. About 51 million boosters have been administered so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

但美国仍有大量免费疫苗库存。拜登政府去年订购了1.71亿只奥密克戎加强针。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据，截至目前，大约有5100万剂加强针被注射。
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The uninsured will continue to have access to these 120 million doses for free, but it's unclear how long the supply will last.

没有保险的人将继续免费获得这1.2亿剂疫苗，但尚不清楚这种供应能持续多久。

"With the supply we have of vaccines and antivirals, we don't think we're going to be in a state of precipitous transition to drop this on market partners," the HHS official said.

这位美国卫生与公众服务部官员表示：“鉴于我们拥有疫苗和抗病毒药物的供应，我们认为我们不会处于仓促过渡的状态，将这一问题抛给市场合作伙伴。”

Although the vaccine makers are preparing to sell shots on the private market later this year, it's possible that the federal stockpile of free shots could last longer than that because booster uptake has been low, Cox said.

考克斯说，尽管疫苗制造商准备在今年晚些时候在私人市场上出售疫苗，但联邦储备的免费疫苗可能会持续更长的时间，因为加强针的使用一直很低。

"Everyone in the U.S. regardless of their citizenship status or their insurance status is able to get a free vaccine as long as this federal stockpile lasts," Cox said.

考克斯说：“只要联邦储备持续，美国的每个人，无论其公民身份或保险身份，都能获得免费疫苗。”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., slammed the vaccine price hike in a letter to Moderna's CEO last month. Sanders, who chairs the Senate health committee, said the price hike would cost taxpayers billions via its impact on Medicaid and Medicare's budgets.

佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯他上个月在给莫德纳首席执行官的一封信中抨击了疫苗价格上涨。参议院卫生委员会主席桑德斯表示，价格上涨将通过对医疗补助和医疗保险预算的影响而花费纳税人数十亿美元。

"Perhaps most significantly, the quadrupling of prices will make the vaccine unavailable for millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans who will not be able to afford it," Sanders said. "How many of these Americans will die from Covid-19 as a result of limited access to these lifesaving vaccines?"

桑德斯说：“也许最重要的是，价格翻了两番，将使数百万没有保险和保险不足的美国人无法获得疫苗，他们将负担不起疫苗。由于获得这些救命疫苗的机会有限，这些美国人中有多少人会死于新冠？”
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Jha said this week that the Biden administration is committed to helping the uninsured access Covid shots and treatments.

杰哈本周表示，拜登政府致力于帮助没有保险的人获得新冠疫苗和治疗。

"We are creating a whole separate set of efforts for the uninsured because the uninsured, of course, will not be able to get vaccines for free and treatments for free under the regular insurance system by definition," Jha said Thursday. "We are working on a plan on that."

杰哈周四说：“我们正在为没有保险的人创造一整套单独的努力，因为根据定义，没有保险的人当然无法在常规保险制度下免费获得疫苗和治疗。我们正在制定相关计划。”

The HHS official said one tool the federal government plans to use is a program called Section 317 that provides funding to procure and administer shots to uninsured adults at no cost.

这位卫生与公众服务部官员表示，联邦政府计划使用的一个工具是一个名为“第317条”的项目，该项目为没有保险的成年人免费购买和注射疫苗提供资金。

ACA requirements

《合理医疗费用法案》需求

But for the overwhelming majority of people with private insurance, the Affordable Care Act will cover the cost of the vaccines. Under the ACA, private health insurance is required to cover all immunizations recommended by the CDC at no cost to the consumer.

但对于绝大多数拥有私人保险的人来说，《平价医疗法案》将支付疫苗的费用。根据平价医疗法案，私人健康保险必须覆盖美国疾病控制与预防中心建议的所有免疫接种，消费者无需支付任何费用。

Medicare would cover the shots for seniors, who are the most vulnerable to the virus, and lower-income people could get the vaccine through Medicaid.

医疗保险将为老年人接种疫苗，老年人是最容易感染病毒的，低收入人群可以通过医疗补助计划接种疫苗。

There may be a small number of legacy private health insurance plans from before the ACA that are not required to cover Covid vaccines, Cox said. The HHS official said most of those plans will likely pay for the shots.

考克斯说，在《合理医疗费用法案》之前，可能有少量遗留的私人健康保险计划不需要覆盖新冠疫苗。卫生与公众服务部官员表示，这些计划中的大部分可能会支付疫苗费用。

In addition, some short-term insurance policies might not pay for the vaccines, Cox said. These plans were expanded during the Trump administration and aren't required to comply with the ACA.

此外，考克斯说，一些短期保险政策可能不支付疫苗费用。这些计划在特朗普政府期间得到了扩展，不需要遵守《合理医疗费用法案》。

The ACA also allows private insurance to limit vaccine coverage to in-network providers, Cox said. People who have grown accustomed to getting vaccinated at any pharmacy during the pandemic might have to go to a specific drugstore in the future to get a free shot, she said.

考克斯说，《合理医疗费用法案》还允许私人保险公司将疫苗覆盖范围限制在网络内的供应商。她说，那些在大流行期间已经习惯在任何药店接种疫苗的人，未来可能必须去特定的药店才能获得免费疫苗。

Consumers could also see their health insurance premiums increase if Pfizer and Moderna hike the price of the shots, Cox said.

考克斯说，如果辉瑞和莫德纳提高疫苗价格，消费者的健康保险费也会增加。

Paxlovid may not be free

帕罗韦德可能不是免费的

Some patients, depending on their insurance policy, will also probably have to pay for Pfizer's antiviral pill Paxlovid in the future. Unlike preventive services such as vaccines, the ACA does not require insurance to cover treatments.

根据他们的保险政策，一些患者未来可能还必须为辉瑞的抗病毒药物帕罗韦德付费。与疫苗等预防性服务不同，《合理医疗费用法案》不要求保险支付治疗费用。

Bourla told market analysts this week that Pfizer expects to start selling Paxlovid through the private market at commercial prices in the second half of 2023.

博拉本周告诉市场分析师，辉瑞预计在2023年下半年开始通过私人市场以商业价格销售帕罗韦德。
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Pfizer has not announced how much the antiviral will cost once it goes commercial. The federal government is paying about $530 for a five-day treatment course. It's unclear how much patients will have to pay out of pocket and how much of the price insurance will cover.

辉瑞尚未宣布这种抗病毒药物商业化后的价格。联邦政府为为期五天的治疗课程支付了大约530美元。目前尚不清楚患者需要自掏腰包支付多少费用，以及价格保险将涵盖多少费用。

Dawn O'Connell, who heads the federal office responsible for the U.S. stockpile, said last August that the Health and Human Services Department expected to run out of Paxlovid by mid-2023.

负责美国库存的联邦办公室负责人道恩·奥康奈尔去年8月表示，美国卫生与公众服务部预计到2023年中期帕罗韦德将用完。

Jha said on Tuesday that there are still millions of doses of Paxlovid and omicron boosters in the U.S. stockpile. "They will continue to be available for free to all Americans who need them," Jha said of the remaining federal supply.

杰哈周二表示，美国库存中仍有数百万剂帕罗韦德和奥密克戎加强针。“他们将继续免费提供给所有需要他们的美国人，”杰哈谈到剩余的联邦供应时说。

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