Dr. Timothy Friel, Chair of the Department of Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network, says they don’t want a lack of insurance stopping anyone from getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
“So the vaccine itself is going to be free nationally, there's been a national commitment to that. But we, like many other health care institutions and I hope more follow suit are saying we're not going to be charging the administration fees that often accompanies vaccine administration, it's far too important.”
Friel says there’s still a lot to be determined - including where, when and who will get the shots.
“We are also already focusing on the best way to identify those individuals within our community who are going to fall into the earliest vaccination. Those over 75, the first group we’ll be looking at, then perhaps groups under 75, 65 to 74 who have chronic medical conditions that put them at greater risk.”
Officials at St. Luke’s University Health Network say they’ll cover the same costs to ensure that as many people as possible get the vaccine.