Following timely outreach from NACDS on behalf of the industry, NACDS was pleased to see efficient action from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) to help mitigate RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine access challenges at pharmacies.
NACDS thanks the membership for not only flagging these important issues for NACDS, but also for their direct outreach to build an amplified message to the government.
On Friday, September 1, CDC updated its primary Immunization Schedules webpage, in addition to six other sub-pages, reflecting the latest RSV vaccination recommendations – in alignment with recommendations from NACDS reflecting members’ insights and experience. This action will help clarify confusion in some states regarding pharmacy vaccination scope of practice, and will make it harder for insurance companies to deny coverage of RSV vaccines.
Additionally, CMS took action on Thursday, August 31, reminding Medicare Part D plans of coverage requirements for RSV vaccination – without cost-sharing – in alignment with the Inflation Reduction Act. This also followed NACDS’ outreach.
