“Key Announcements for Wyandotte County Residents: COVID-19 Test Kits, Vaccine Access, and New CDC Recommendations”

The Unified Government Public Health Department (UGPHD) is alerting the public to two key announcements regarding COVID-19 in the United States:
*First, the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration will expire at the end of the day on May 11th.
*Second, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new, simplified recommendations about COVID vaccines last week.
Here’s more information on how that affects Wyandotte County residents:

Access to Over-the-Counter COVID Test Kits
Currently, those who are on Medicare can access up to 8 free over-the-counter, at-home COVID test kits per month, free of charge. Those who have private health insurance can be reimbursed for the cost of up to 8 at-home tests per month, currently (check with your insurance provider to get details on how to process requested reimbursements).
However, these benefits will go away when the Public Health Emergency declaration expires at the end of the day on May 11th. So the UGPHD is urging those on Medicare and with private insurance to stock up on over-the-counter, at-home tests now, before you lose these benefits.
Wyandotte County residents can still access free COVID tests other ways, including:
*Get free test kits at community locations in Wyandotte County, including the Unified Government Public Health Department, located at 619 Ann Avenue.
*Order free test kits through covidtests.gov, while supplies last. You can get up to four free test kits per household.
*Order free test kits through Project ACT at accesscovidtests.org, while supplies last.

Access to COVID Vaccine
For now, COVID vaccinations will remain free of charge. That’s because earlier in the pandemic, the federal government purchased COVID vaccine in bulk to ensure anyone in the U.S. who wanted to get vaccinated against COVID could do so free of charge. You can still get free COVID vaccinations and boosters from many healthcare providers, while the federal government’s supply of vaccines lasts. This federally purchased supply of vaccines isn’t affected by the expiration of the Public Health Emergency declaration.
When the federally purchased supply of COVID vaccines is used up, COVID vaccines will be made available commercially, much like any other vaccine used for preventive care. When these vaccines are commercialized, some people, such as those with private insurance, may have to pay for COVID vaccinations. In addition, there may be other programs made available to help those without health insurance get COVID vaccinations. The UGPHD will share more details on this commercialization process as they become available.

New CDC Recommendations Announced
In addition to the Public Health Emergency Declaration expiration, the CDC has also issued new vaccine recommendations. Here are the highlights:
*Adults ages 65 and older and people who are immunocompromised can now get an additional, updated (bivalent) COVID vaccine dose. Adults 65 and older can get a second bivalent booster at least 4 months after their first dose. Those who are immunocompromised can get a second bivalent dose after 2 months.
*The original, monovalent mRNA vaccines are no longer recommended for use in the U.S. This is because the newer “bivalent” vaccines protect against more than one strain of the virus that causes COVID and protects against strains that are newer (such as Omicron strains) that spread more easily than the original COVID virus strain.
*The CDC recommends that anyone age 6 months and over should get an updated, bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether you have completed your monovalent series previously.
*Individuals ages 6 years and older who have already received an updated, bivalent mRNA vaccine don’t need to take any further action at this time, unless you are 65 years or older or immunocompromised.
The UGPHD provides free bivalent COVID vaccines by appointment only at 619 Ann Avenue in KCK. Please call (913) 573-8855 to schedule an appointment. The hours for COVID vaccination appointments are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. You can also find other COVID vaccination sites by visiting vaccines.gov.

New Communications on COVID-19 from the Unified Government Public Health Department (UGPHD)

The Unified Government Public Health Department (UGPHD) is alerting the public to two key announcements about COVID-19 in the United States:
*First, the declaration of a Federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 will expire at the end of the day on May 11.
*Second, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new and simplified recommendations on COVID vaccines last week.
Here’s more information on how that affects Wyandotte County residents:

Access to over-the-counter COVID test kits
Currently, those with Medicare can access up to 8 over-the-counter home COVID test kits per month at no charge. Those with private health insurance can currently be reimbursed for the cost of up to 8 home tests per month (check with your insurance provider for details on how to process requested reimbursements).
However, these benefits will disappear when the Public Health Emergency declaration expires at the end of May 11. Therefore, the UGPHD urges people with Medicare and private insurance to stock up on over-the-counter home tests now, before losing these benefits.
Wyandotte County residents can still access free COVID tests in other ways, including:
*Get free test kits at community locations in Wyandotte County, including the Unified Government Department of Public Health, located at 619 Ann Avenue.
*Request free test kits through covidtests.gov, while supplies last. You can get up to four free test kits per household.
*Request free test kits through the ACT Project at accesscovidtests.org, while supplies last.

Access to the COVID vaccine
For now, COVID vaccines will remain free. This is because early in the pandemic, the federal government purchased the COVID vaccine in bulk to ensure that anyone in the US who wanted to get the COVID vaccine could do so for free. You can still get free COVID vaccines and boosters from many health care providers, while the federal government’s supply of vaccines lasts. This federally purchased vaccine supply is not affected by the expiration of the Public Health Emergency declaration.
When the federal supply of COVID vaccines runs out, COVID vaccines will become commercially available, just like any other vaccine used for preventive care. When these vaccines are released, some people, such as those with private insurance, may have to pay for COVID vaccines. In addition, there may be other programs available to help people without health insurance get vaccinated against COVID. The UGPHD will share more details about this commercialization process as they become available.

New CDC Recommendations Announced
In addition to the expiration of the Public Health Emergency Declaration, the CDC has also issued new vaccine recommendations. Here are the highlights:
*Adults 65 years and older and immunocompromised individuals can now receive an additional up-to-date (bivalent) dose of the COVID vaccine. Adults 65 years and older may receive a second bivalent booster at least 4 months after the first dose. Immunocompromised individuals may receive a second bivalent dose after 2 months.
*The original monovalent mRNA vaccines are no longer recommended for use in the US This is because newer “bivalent” vaccines protect against more than one strain of the virus that causes COVID and protect against strains that are newer. (such as the Omicron strains) that spread more easily than the original strain of the COVID virus.
*CDC recommends that anyone 6 months of age and older receive an up-to-date bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they have previously completed their monovalent series.
*Persons 6 years of age and older who have already received an updated bivalent mRNA vaccine do not need to take any further action at this time, unless they are 65 years of age or older or immunocompromised.
The UGPHD provides free bivalent COVID vaccines by appointment only at 619 Ann Avenue in KCK. Call (913) 573-8855 to schedule an appointment. COVID vaccination appointment times are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm You can also find other COVID vaccination sites by visiting vacunas.gov.