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A registered nurse with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health administers a COVID-19 vaccination at the Village Mental Health Services in Los Angeles in August 2022. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Finding locations that offer free COVID-19 shots has also become more difficult for those without insurance, even though the Bridge Access Program funding is technically still in place. The CDC’s online vaccine locator tool, which previously offered people a way to search for nearby vaccination sites and filter by whether they were participating in the program, has now been removed from vaccines.gov.
A message on that site now states that the vaccine locator will be replaced with a pharmacy lookup tool that “will be added once 2024–25 flu and COVID-19 vaccines become widely available.” However, the site does not currently appear to offer any way to find free vaccination locations.
Keep reading for what to know about COVID-19 shots for uninsured people, or jump straight to how to find a free vaccine if you don’t have health insurance.
As funding dries up, clinics are left scrambling
“We didn’t get any specific advance notice of exactly when it was going to be happening,” said Dr. Michael Stacey, chief medical officer at LifeLong Medical Care — one of the community clinics that’s been offering free COVID-19 shots to uninsured people through the Bridge Access Program. “Our notification came along with the rest of the rest of the world.”
The federal program launched when the commercial health care market began taking over COVID-19 vaccine distribution from the federal government,which had until then made the vaccines free to everyone, regardless of insurance. This means that, like the flu shot, a person’s COVID-19 vaccine is now either paid for under their health insurance plan if they have one or through a sizable out-of-pocket payment. At CVS, for instance, a COVID-19 vaccine costs $190.99 if you don’t have any insurance.
The Bridge Access Program was one of the few remaining sources of pandemic-era funding to offer COVID-19 care to “the most vulnerable in the community,” said Stacey, who noted that the timing is particularly unfortunate due to the ongoing nationwide summer surge in infections.
Uninsured children, ages 18 and under, can still get free COVID-19 vaccines and other free immunizations as part of the Vaccines for Children Program.
During a visit this week to the Petaluma Health Center — one of the clinics still offering free COVID-19 shots for uninsured people — U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said he “believe[d] the clinics, the community health centers will continue to have shots” after the program’s funding ends. However, he did not offer any specifics on how the clinics could continue to offer them.
Locations like the Petaluma Health Center say they are now seeking grants, along with county and state funding, to make sure they can keep offering free vaccines.
Should uninsured people seek a free shot ASAP before the funding runs out?
For Stacey, of Lifelong Medical Care, the answer is simple: Yes. “For those that don’t have insurance, try to get the vaccine now before the [Bridge Access] program ends,” he said.
“We’re plugging ahead in these last days that we have to be able to vaccinate the uninsured as much as we can before the program actually shuts off,” Stacey said.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, echoed that, telling KQED by email that it’s “100% true that uninsured people should try to get the vaccine now, given the uncertainty of what will happen in the fall” regarding the program’s funding.
The COVID-19 vaccine that’s currently available has been around since September 2023 (and this spring, an extra shot of the vaccine formulation was recommended for people age 65 and older.) The new, updated COVID-19 vaccine targeted to the latest variants is scheduled for release this fall, with Pfizer and Moderna both saying their vaccines could be ready as early as this month.
But Chin-Hong said that just because a new vaccine is expected soon, uninsured people shouldn’t be dissuaded from getting the current vaccine for free now — not just because the money for free shots is about to run out, but also because it’s not necessarily the best idea to get the new shot the minute it’s released anyway.
Even though the CDC recommends waiting two months between COVID-19 shots, “you won’t want to get the vaccine when it comes out immediately anyway as it is meant for the expected onslaught of cases in the winter,” Chin-Hong said. “Get it too soon, and your maximal antibodies will peak before you need it.”
And amid current high infection rates, there’s data to indicate that the available COVID-19 vaccine still offers good protection against the latest variants causing this surge, even though it was originally targeted to older variants, Chin-Hong said.
“The superpower of the vaccine is to protect against serious disease, hospitalization and death,” he said. “And for that, even the [current] XBB.1.5 booster will perform spectacularly well.”
Getting the current COVID-19 vaccine now for free might also buy uninsured people some time — and extra immunity — as public health agencies work out how to continue extending access to them, Chin-Hong said.
“Uninsured people who get the vaccine now can rest assured that the vaccine will likely protect against serious disease for at least a year,” he said. “So even if there are problems with getting the new vaccine in the fall, I feel comfortable that many of those can take this immune system reminder to carry them through the winter reasonably well.”
How can I find a free COVID shot ASAP if I’m uninsured?
Like many aspects of finding COVID-19 care at this stage of the pandemic, even finding a location that offers free COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured people through the Bridge Access Program has become more difficult — especially since the CDC removed its online vaccine locator tool, which showed all Bridge Access Program sites from vaccines.gov.
So, if you’re uninsured and want to find a free COVID-19 shot as soon as possible before the program funding runs out, here’s a selection of options. Unfortunately, a number of them now require proactive research and action.
Use the state’s My Turn Vaccine Locator
This online tool from the California Department of Public Health allows you to filter by vaccine type and insurance status. However, this tool does not show every single vaccination site that may offer free shots through the Bridge Access Program for those without insurance. For example, it only returns two clinics that offer COVID-19 shots to uninsured people within 50 miles of San Francisco (in Napa and San Jose).
Find a community health center through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS has a map tool showing community health centers that may offer free COVID-19 shots for uninsured people. After you search for a nearby location, contact that center directly to ask if it’s offering no-insurance COVID-19 shots for free through the Bridge Access Program.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) also said that its AITC Immunization and Travel Clinic provides the COVID-19 vaccine to uninsured people, although the agency notes that “people outside of San Francisco are encouraged to contact their local health department to find a vaccine near them.” The clinic is located at 101 Grove Street, Room 102, and appointments are required: call 415-554-2625 for hours and availability.
SFDPH also recommends that uninsured people visit the appointment-only San Francisco Free Clinic (4900 California St.; call 415-750-9894 for hours and availability). But when you call, check if you need to be an SF resident to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine.
Reach out to your local pharmacy
Both the California Department of Public Health and SFDPH recommend you directly contact pharmacies near you to ask if they have COVID-19 vaccines in stock and whether they’re offering those shots for free through the Bridge Access Program.
Remember to be really careful and confirm repeatedly that any shot will actually be free, as the out-of-pocket cost can be steep.
Reach out to your local health department
Contact your city or county’s public health department to ask if they’re still offering free COVID-19 vaccines to people without insurance through the Bridge Access Program or otherwise. The following links may also provide information on community clinics offering vaccines — just be sure to stress you don’t have insurance and are looking for free shots.
- Alameda County COVID-19 vaccination
- City of Berkeley COVID-19 vaccination
- Contra Costa COVID-19 vaccination
- Marin County COVID-19 vaccination
- Napa County COVID-19 vaccination
- San Francisco COVID-19 vaccination
- San Mateo County COVID-19 vaccination
- Santa Clara County COVID-19 vaccination
- Solano County COVID-19 vaccination
- Sonoma County COVID-19 vaccination
What will happen with free COVID vaccinations for uninsured people in the long run?
It’s still unclear.
In a recent statement, the California Department of Public Health said they are “exploring options to continue to support COVID-19 vaccine access after the end of the BAP program for uninsured and underinsured adults, including limited federal and state funding sources,” and that vaccine manufacturers “may also develop patient assistance programs.”
The agency, it said, “remains committed to monitoring vaccine access options for vulnerable populations, including uninsured adults and will share relevant information as it becomes available.”
Stacey, of Lifelong Medical Care, said that in the absence of official guidance, clinics like his are “going to work on seeing what we can do to get funding and get resources to be able to continue, hopefully in the near future, to be able to provide the vaccines to the uninsured again.”
“We are trying to figure out how we can get funding or be able to purchase at least a limited supply of vaccines that we can use for those who are experiencing homelessness,” he said. “We don’t have a solution to that right now. Not only are the vaccines not being provided to us through this program, but the cost of the vaccines has also gone up.”
Chin-Hong, of UCSF, is optimistic that in the fall, Bay Area and statewide public health officials “will likely find a way to get the new COVID vaccine into uninsured arms” since he’s found those agencies “generally more forward-thinking” and willing to “provide more safety net programs than many other areas in the country.”
“However,” he said, “it will take some time for these programs to roll out smoothly.”
