Federal officials in the United States say that booster shots are not needed yet. But some anxious patients are nonetheless trying to get them, either by asking a health care provider willing to prescribe an extra shot, or by lying about their earlier vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is just starting to track data about unauthorized booster shots, Director Rochelle Walensky said Monday. She said the government can discern the difference between second and third shots, and is encouraging people to report safety outcomes if they receive boosters, though they are not recommended.
Many vaccination sites, including those at Walgreens and CVS, have explicit policies not to give additional shots to people who have been fully vaccinated. But they may not always be checking to ensure that that’s the case.
When patients arrive at vaccination sites, they usually have to fill out a consent form that asks whether they have been vaccinated before. In an ideal world, vaccinators would check the information on those forms against state vaccine registries to validate that patients are telling the truth. However, Aetna said that based on current guidelines from the CDC, the insurer does not cover additional Covid-19 shots for fully vaccinated patients.
If providers do catch patients trying to get booster shots, it could be an opportunity for a conversation about current recommendations as opposed to a situation that would escalate.
“People are frightened, and they are not sure what to do,” Coyle said. “There are so many reasons why someone would be motivated to seek an additional shot and it’s hard to catch all of those, so registries can be leveraged to ask questions.”
Aside from just presenting at a vaccination site, patients can have conversations with their doctor about prescribing a third shot outside of the FDA’s authorization. Mount Sinai Health System said it does not endorse prescribing booster shots, and said any providers administering extra doses will receive a notice and will have to fill out extra paperwork to help collect safety data.
The Mayo Clinic, University of Washington Medicine, and Wellforce Health System are also not providing booster shots, spokespeople said. AMA President Gerald Harmon said in an email that the group supports the FDA and CDC position as well