U.S. won't pay for COVID-19 shots soon: WSJ

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Joe Biden administration is in the early stages of preparing to shift the burden of paying for COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments to Americans after nearly three years of the federal government picking up the bill, reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday.

The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a meeting later this month to pave the way for insurers and patients to pay for COVID-19 vaccines, antiviral treatments and tests, said the report.

Stakeholders from across the healthcare industry will take part in the planning meeting, during which representatives from pharmacy chains, state health departments and drug producers are expected to begin laying out how insurance coverage and reimbursement would work with the shift, along with industry regulations, according to the report.

The commercialization process is expected to take months to finalize, and the biggest challenge to tackle will be how to make sure the 30 million Americans with no healthcare coverage will access vaccines and treatments, it said.

Shifting from the current model could also mean billions of dollars in additional profit for companies that produce vaccines and antiviral treatments, as commercial prices will likely be higher than what the federal government paid, it added.