Risks increase for uninsured during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines were free for most people with public or private insurance. Once federally funded programs covering free COVID-19 vaccines ended and supplies ran out, the cost of paying for vaccines was most significant for people who were uninsured, underinsured, or already living in poverty.

“[Federal emergency] declarations created no cost COVID-19 service access for economically marginalized communities in the US that were most heavily impacted by the pandemic. Uninsured populations have increased…along with disproportionate poverty and vaccine hesitancy among rural communities [which] has made Tennesseans more vulnerable to COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality.” Archives of Internal Medicine Research, March 2024

In a policy paper, Tennessee CEAL Regional Team researchers shared that the state ranks ninth in the U.S. for the number of uninsured residents, with more than 800,000 people lacking health insurance. Uninsured people are also more likely to be elderly and live in rural areas of the state where there is less access to COVID-19 vaccines and health care services overall.

Tennesseans who relied on free vaccines offered through federal funding may have gone without vaccination once funding lapsed, leading to greater community spread of COVID-19 and putting residents at greater risk.

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Ending of the COVID-19 related public and national health emergency declarations: Implications for medically underserved populations in Tennessee