COVID-19 Updated Booster Vaccines Covered Without Cost-Sharing for Eligible Children Ages 5 to 11

View in browser | Distributed by Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) Following the actions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing that Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage is available for eligible covered children for the updated COVID-19 vaccines. As a reminder, regardless of what coverage you have, or whether you have coverage at all, COVID-19 vaccines are free to anyone who wants one, for both children and adults. This coverage is part of the ongoing commitment to protect children against severe COVID-19 illness.   The CDC recently expanded the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 through 11 years. This followed the FDA’s authorization of updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages 5 through 11 years and from Moderna for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years.  People with Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage, private insurance coverage, or no health coverage can get COVID-19 vaccines, including the updated Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, at no cost, for as long as the federal government continues purchasing and distributing these COVID-19 vaccines.  Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations is the best defense against severe illness, hospitalization, and death from the virus. CMS continues to explore ways to ensure maximum access to COVID-19 vaccinations. Information regarding the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Requirements and how the COVID-19 vaccines are provided through that program at no cost to recipients is available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/vaccination-provider-support.html and through the COVID-19 Vaccine Policies & Guidance page. For information on Medicare payment, billing and codes for the updated vaccine, visit the CMS COVID-19 Provider Toolkit. Visit vaccines.gov (English) or vacunas.gov (Spanish) to search for vaccine locations. For resources to promote COVID-19 vaccination, visit the We Can Do This campaign. ### Contact: CMS Media Relations CMS Media Inquiries Get CMS news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on @CMSgov

 

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