Covid-19 Vaccine

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Promote COVID-19 Vaccinations - Help End the Pandemic

• Use these links to help promote vaccination by playing the videos above on your waiting room TVs or website and social media channels:
  • Promote COVID-19 Vaccination
  • COVID Vaccine - Myth vs. Fact
• Always check eligibility and benefits through ProviderAccess or your practice management system to confirm coverage and cost-sharing details for each patient.
• Important note about Blue Advantage^® members: 

  Effective January 1, 2022, providers who give COVID-19 vaccinations or administer monoclonal antibody treatment to patients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, including Blue Advantage®, should submit claims to the Medicare Advantage plan.

  Starting in 2022, Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) and Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MMPs) must pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and its administration (including approved booster doses) without cost sharing for beneficiaries enrolled in their plans, which includes Blue Advantage.

  This update also applies to the therapies and administration of monoclonal antibody treatments for patients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, including Blue Advantage.

Vaccine Codes

Note: Vaccine codes are effective after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves for emergency use.

FDA Limits Authorized Use of Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 5, 2022, limited the authorized use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to the following individuals: 

• Those who are 18 or older and for whom other authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or clinically appropriate; or,
• Those 18 or older who elect to receive the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine because they would otherwise not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The FDA in its announcement cited the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a syndrome of rare and potentially life-threatening blood clots in combination with low levels of blood platelets, with onset of symptoms approximately one to two weeks following administration of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. 

Additional information about this update is available from the FDA:

• Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine EUA Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers
• Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers

Federal Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine Administration

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has issued an announcement about COVID-19 vaccination administration guidance that includes the following:

• The vaccine must be administered at no cost to recipients.
• Providers may not charge an office visit or other fee if the COVID-19 vaccine is the sole medical service provided.
• Providers may not seek any reimbursement, including through balance billing, from the vaccine recipient.

You can read the entire announcement at oig.hhs.gov/coronavirus by clicking the headline “Message from HHS-OIG Leadership on the COVID-19 Vaccination Program and Provider Compliance” dated April 15, 2021.

Experts Recommend Pregnant Women Get COVID Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with various Alabama healthcare organizations are strongly recommending that pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccination.

“A new CDC analysis of current data from the v-safe pregnancy registry assessed vaccination early in pregnancy and did not find an increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 pregnant women who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy,” the agency said in an August 11, 2021, statement.

The Alabama Perinatal Quality Collaborative issued a statement in August: “We urge those caring for pregnant and lactating women to counsel their patients on the benefits of vaccination. The literature supports the safety of vaccination in individuals, before, during, and after pregnancy.”

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) issued a recommendation on August 24, 2021, citing vaccination support from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

The ADPH “joins these organizations in strongly urging all pregnant individuals, along with recently pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding and other eligible pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”

Other Vaccine Resources:

• Alabama Department of Public Health: Vaccination Provider Support
• CDC: Vaccine Clinical Resources
• FDA: Vaccine Information