Im american and got vaccinated last saturday.
When I attempt to schedule a COVID vaccine, I get this:
The 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine is for everyone ages 65 and older and patients under 65 with certain health conditions and/or risk factors.
I get a pop up saying…
Patients who do not have any of these health conditions and/or risk factors are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
Qualifying health conditions and/or risk factors:
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease (at any stage)
- Chronic liver disease
- Chronic lung disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- Dementia or other neurological conditions
- Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
- Disabilities
- Heart conditions
- Hemoglobin blood disorders
- HIV infection (human immunodeficiency virus)
- Mental health conditions
- Mood disorders including depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
- Overweight or obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Pregnancy (Current or recent)
- Smoking - current or former
- Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
- Substance use disorders
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Other conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Learn more from CDC
So, health insurance fraud or COVID? Considering the administration will likely try to slaughter any consumer-friendly insurance regulations and everyone shares everyone’s every piece of data with everyone… What a choice.
If you look through the list and how prevalent some things are its easy to not commit fraud if your a typical person.
So if you are healthy, you shouldn’t get the vaccine? Typical people are unhealthy enough? What exactly is your point? Why the fuck should it be harder to get a vaccine for COVID than the flu?
A decision is going to be make later this month by a committee as to the future of the vaccine. That committee was fired, in its entirety, and replaced by people picked by RFK. So… I guess if you willing to attest to your insurance company that you have conditions that, in no time at all, may be used by your insurance company to increase your rate or drop you (because I guarantee they’ll try to kill Obamacare at some point), you can get a vaccine for a limited time… assuming you live in certain states.
Last I checked, the following states require a prescription:
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
The following states are not providing the vaccine at all:
Massachusetts, Nevada, and New Mexico
Edit: Looks like things have progressed. MA is now offering them to anyone.
I think because Donvict and Brainworms have created such a clusterfuck here, Colorado did an emergency measure as well.
(As a side note: Isn’t it weird how the cons break EVERYTHING and everyone else is expected to clean up their fucking mess?
Biden’s admin had 4 years to try to undo some of the damage of Donvict’s first 4 years, and most of the bitching from the left and the center seemed to be how the admin did not INSTANTLY fix all of the messes that conservatives make…forgetting that building and running a working system is hard work; breaking shit is really easy to do.)
I am by no means defending the cluster fuck. I did not mean to suggest so. Alls im suggesting is most americans, reading through that list, can reasonably answer they do. For example I meet the definition of being obese but the lines around that section are very common.
The problem is that many fear how that might come back and bite them, given the insurance situation here. “What you checked “Physical inactivity” here, your premiums are going up, or we are going to drop you…”
Why do we even need this extra step at all, just because one dopey guy was “elected” and nominated his conspiracy theory pal to run health?
Is it surging? The article didn’t say anything about a surge in cases
maybe just a swell.
…as a treat
Seems like it may be
Long COVID and the moral injury of passively harming others both suck shit. A well fitted respirator mask like an N95 can save a lot of hurt, and every broken chain of transmission is still valuable.
I’ve been getting flu shot every year for 10 years and all my yearly covid shots too. My internet speed is blazing fast.
I still don’t see how getting 5G is seen as a bad thing. Of all the side effects they could come up with, they picked one that is genuinely useful? Come on… They can do better.
Viagra can cause blindness and no one lost dey minds over that.
Heads up: CVS doesn’t give a fuck. Just tick the box saying you are at risk and then go get a same day appointment if you want. They don’t ask any additional details so there is no risk of getting it in your file that you are obese or depressed or whatever else insurance companies will penalize you for (I think people were generally suggesting that you claim anxiety if you must since that is the least serious and most transient?).
I’ve also been seeing rumor that there may be an additional meeting to lock that down in a few weeks, but I haven’t managed to find details beyond “everybody is talking about it”. So… good luck.
It varies by state. Here in CA, I ticked the box and CVS didn’t ask me for an ID or anything, just gave me the shots. Hopefully it will remain that easy here in the years to come.
Two of the risk factors are being obese or physically inactive. That should cover most of the people.
I did get mine at CVS but my insurance wouldn’t bill through them so it cost me $200. It was either that or not get the shot at all so I ponied up.
For anyone else facing this issue that can’t afford it, apparently part of the new FDA guidelines are that people need to get it at a doctor’s office rather than a pharmacy (so our insurance advised us). So if your copay is cheaper it’s probably worth making an appointment for.
If you can’t afford the copay try local (or less local) libraries, ours does limited free vaccines occasionally.
United? A year or two back when I still had UHC they actively refused to work with CVS and I had to go to Walgreens instead. No idea if Walgreens cares or not about guidelines
Kaiser. They are generally decent, but don’t cover out of network vaccines and they aren’t stocking the covid vaccine currently (statement that it has been paused on their website).
Paused? I just got it a couple days ago, in stock. Asked if you are at risk and otherwise was the same and the process to get flu shot
I can only get it through them with an office visit but if I select ‘covid vaccine’ as the reason for the visit, I get a banner message stating ‘2025/2026 COVID Vaccine Formulation is being paused and not yet available.’ and I am unable to continue.
Ah looks like it depends on the state
https://www.wect.com/2025/09/04/cvs-pharmacy-walgreens-change-requirements-covid-19-vaccine/
Based on the current regulatory environment, CVS Pharmacy is offering FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccinations in the following states - AK, AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, ND, NH, NJ, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WI, WY. States may change at any time.
In addition, we are also offering the updated COVID-19 vaccines to patients, depending on their age, if they present an authorized prescriber’s prescription in the following states – AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, ME, NC, NY, PA, UT, VA, WV,"
In Canada when the flu vax was costly, we could get it for free by claiming our parents or grandparents are at risk and that we wanted to visit them since they aren’t good with video calls.
Thus, even if we were hale and healthy, it wasn’t a user-pay thing.
Maybe it’ll work for you?
(Yes, its all free now, but before that it wasn’t.)
British Columbian here, what part of Canada was that? Because it wasn’t this end…
Maybe Alberta, the Trump-loving Texas of the North?
When did we ever have to pay for vaccines? (Ontario here)
We have to pay for Shingrex. $300.
Manitoba here, also wondering.
Nobody in my family has paid out of pocket for a covid (or any other) vaccine.
Can confirm. Just got vaccinated at CVS two days ago. Not having worms in your brain definitely qualifies you to get a vaccine.
This is what you voted for protest-non-voters.
yeah…fuck those guys. Lie in your bed, pull up a pox blanket.
Hope they all get covid.
A mild case, sure … and somehow their voting status is on file at the hospital. So they suffer at home, coughing for 3 weeks while Mr Jenkins in the next apartment bangs on the walls at all hours because the coughing is keeping him up.
Interesting choice to single out non voters over the Republicans that literally voted for this.
No matter what your downvotes say or the ridicule you face, what you are saying is correct.
If the general consensus had a functioning rational mind, our world wouldn’t be boiling, corporations would be under control, and we’d all be living significantly happier lives.
Unfortunately, that isn’t reality.
By extension, in general, the majority population isn’t capable of reasoning through these things. So you will have an unpopular opinion until that changes, hopefully before the irreversible death of humanity on this planet.
Republicans are lost causes. Principled non-voters had some capacity for rational thought left, at least in theory, and thus should’ve been open to seeing reason.
Could say the same about the Democratic Party leadership, but apparently not.
Could also take into account that Pew polls found that even if everyone voted Trump would have still won, but then I guess that wouldn’t allow for berating a scapegoat. That’s much less scary than confronting that you live in a society that actually wants fascism.
GOP voters, by and large, have no delusion of what they voted for. Protest-non-voters need to be informed of what they actually voted for.
“but Biden would’ve been 1/10th as bad with Palestine…”
Like harm reduction isn’t a thing.
It’s the same fucking thing in our system. FFS.
Nah, someone in a blue state who chose to not vote isn’t the same as someone in a red state who voted Republican. There aren’t any words you can say to make me think those are the same thing.
Right, it’s usually pointless to use logic and reason to refute a belief that was obtained using neither.
If necessary, you can travel from your slave state to a free state and get it.
fuck that all states are slave states controlled by the same owner class
just because you won the demographic lottery and live in an HOA bubble doesn’t mean the rest of us do or could just hop in car for a day trip
fyi some people have the job to go other states for other people for this reason whole economy of it and that alone shows we need to riot for major reform
Some slave masters want their slaves to be healthy. Some don’t care if a bunch get sick and die.
^ this comment is wild, but I think I’m on board with the riot for major reform
Why is it wild? What did they say that’s wild?
Do you really believe some states are free? Do you really believe blue states aren’t run by corrupt politicians paid by billionaires?
Identify the wild part and articulate why it’s wild.
It’s wild because it implies a lot out of OP’s comment that OP didn’t say, but at the same time your frustrations make perfect sense.
The context is what makes it stand out. There absolutely are insensitive people who think the solution to red states’ problems is “just go to a blue state.” I can see why OP’s comment may have triggered a certain defense. However, I didn’t get the “insensitive” vibe from their comment, merely a mention that the vaccines are still available in other states.
It read it not as, “Oh you don’t really have a problem because you can travel,” but rather as a response to how the above article implies that this is a problem nation-wide, even though it actually isn’t. I know, because I just got both the covid and flu shot yesterday and the experience wasn’t any different from other times I’ve received shots. I was looking through the comments specifically to find somebody who pointed this out, as I planned to mention it myself (though I would’ve phrased it differently.)
With all that said, I feel you. It’s absolute bullshit that a luck of the draw means some of us have better access to preventive medicine than others, and it must be frustrating when people chime in with “solutions” that are beyond your means. As if being surrounded by MAGA isn’t bad enough. And to the points in your second comment - you’re absolutely right. The billionaires are the ones behind all of the crap we deal with, regardless of where we happen to live.
Oh, it’s you.
Lemmy makes it super easy to block people
Sometimes I like to be reminded of what stupid people think.
Fair enough
I’d rather the rest of the world see the rebuttals so they know they’re not alone. ;-)
What’s the rebuttal?
Article provides no source for ‘…covid surges…’ ('Im not saying its false, I’m saying where the hell do we get this info now that the CDC is unreliable)
Links from the free Threat Model newsletter:
Denis the COVID info guy, on Bluesky or Mastodon
Thank you.
My boyfriend and I are literally stuck at home right now with covid. We’re also aware of quite a few cases popping up around us. At this point, the only way we’ll know of surges are due to word of mouth.
That sucks, hope ya feel better soon and stay well. If you want info on tracking surges, or want to read about treatment and such, I just posted a reply to this same parent comment with some links that might help.
E: This “What to Do When I Have Covid” guide from Clean Air Club might be useful too.
Gut feeling. Or maybe that’s covid…
here let me just get you some raw milk and beef tallow for that…
Is horse paste not good enough anymore?
Please don’t wait for your vax. I told my wife we needed to renew last week, we waited a couple days too long, and Covid hit every single one of our family members and us last week. It still hits pretty hard.
I was literally going to look into getting my vaccine this week… Then I got Covid. So sitting at home feeling miserable. Only positive thing is while its been awful, it hasn’t been as awful as the other time I got it and almost ended up hospitalized.
Hope you fully recover. I had mild covid in 2020 and never did. Long covid is a bitch.
Thank you. I’ve slept for almost like 48 hours in the past 3 days and actually woke up feeling good today.
How has long Covid affected you?
God keeps sending plagues. I wonder why.
It bothers me when christians are like “god sent a plague because you’re gay” but not “oh wow there was a global pandemic after we elected one of the worst humans on earth”
When i do it it’s gods blessing, when they do it it’s witchcraft
When they do wrong it’s god sending the plagues, when I do wrong and get a plague it’s a test of faith
When other believers get hurt, it’s ours gods wrath, when we get hurt… it’s in bible, the whole history of Job
Disease isn’t judgement. I know you’re just being flippant, but it’s a line of thinking that grinds on me after having lived through the tail end of the AIDS epidemic.
And most of the deaths are during Trump’s terms. Odd. Almost as if his complete lack of responsible leadership has something to do with it.
It does but he doesn’t give a fuck
God doesn’t exist. Our terrors are of man, buddy.
Sorry, I turned the frogs gay.
Edit typos
There was literal plague in California.
https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2025-08-25/the-plague-reappeared-in-california
Is. Plague is endemic in much of the Southwest (and maybe elsewhere). It just rarely infects humans because we don’t usually get bit by fleas anymore.
Armadillos can carry leprosy
Yo that’s crazy.
Is this karma for US trying to withhold tuberculosis medication from Africa before? I still can’t believe that there’s people who unironically voted for and continue to defend this. Natural selection is gonna be brutal in the coming years.
