FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With demand low and federal funds running out, dozens of COVID testing, vaccination and treatments sites will be closing in South Florida within the next 10 days.
Residents may want to consider some immediate actions with only a few days left to get a COVID shot for free. After April 5, the uninsured will have to pay for COVID-19 vaccines out of their own pocket.
“You have a few more days to get vaccinated or boosted at no charge so take advantage of that,” said Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Florida International University.
If you need to get COVID tested, you may want to do that quickly, too. The federal government already has stopped paying for tests for the uninsured. While that change has triggered the closure of some test sites, more are set to close in the next week, limiting options and creating more reliance on the less-accurate, at-home rapid tests.
CDR Health, the private company contracted by Florida, announced it will close seven test sites in Palm Beach County, one in Broward County and 11 others throughout the state.
As of Thursday, the company closed all of its monoclonal antibody treatment sites that had been touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis in his “Early Treatment Saves Lives” campaign. One of those sites had been at West Gate Park & Recreation Center in Palm Beach County.
The closures come as federal funding for tests and treatments has run out.
The Uninsured Program, administered by the Health Resources & Services Administration of HHS, had been reimbursing providers for testing and treatment, but on March 22, it stopped taking claims for uninsured patients “due to a lack of sufficient funds.”
Now the “free test and treatment for all” approach will no longer exist. Retail pharmacies have not yet said whether they will keep offering vaccines and tests for free.
People without insurance who will be asked to self-pay for PCR tests may spend an average of $100 to $200 but the cost can vary based on where the test is processed. GlaxoSmithKline’s monoclonal treatment, sotrovimab, costs $2,100 per dose.
CDR Health spokesman Steven Vancore said the company will offer monoclonal antibody therapy only at its Tallahassee clinic and those without insurance will need to self-pay for treatment.
Sotrovimab and Bebtelovimab, the two monoclonal antibody treatments thought to be effective against omicron, are being offered “based on availability.” The site also has Evusheld, a preventative monoclonal antibody therapy for those who are immunocompromised or unable to get vaccinated.
“If Congress passes a new funding bill that covers monoclonal antibody treatments, and/or other sources of funding become available, then CDR is ready to reopen sites within 24 to 48 hours,” Tina Vidal-Duart, CDR Health CEO, said in a written statement.
In addition, some testing and vaccination sites run by the Florida Department of Health also will close, including locations that had once attracted thousands of residents per day.
C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, the first mass test site in South Florida, will close both testing and vaccination on March 29.
A walk-up site in Dania Beach will close on March 31, and in Palm Beach County, the Lake Worth Health Center on Southwinds Drive closed on March 18.
Curative, a private company that offers testing at the Broward Courthouse and Hollywood’s David Park Community Center, says its sites will stay open but with a caveat: “Curative is no longer able to test patients who are uninsured in Florida effective immediately.”
Vaccination changes
April 5 is the last day the Uninsured Program will accept claims from sites that are giving out free vaccines. That has triggered the closure of some local vaccination sites as well, including a popular clinic in Miramar’s Vizcaya Park.
President Joe Biden has called for Congress to immediately approve $22.5 billion in emergency funds to keep up the battle against COVID-19, but Democrats dropped the request amid disputes that threatened other priorities. The COVID reimbursement program was launched in 2020 with $100 billion in funding, and another $78 billion was appropriated later.
CDR Health’s Vancore said the company will close its walk-up and drive-thru vaccination sites in Florida on April 1. Its South Florida vaccination sites are in Belle Glade and at Florida Atlantic University.
The Health Care District of Palm Beach has pared its vaccination sites down to one, a mobile clinic parked outside the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinic in Lantana. That site will close at the end of the month.
The COVID site closures come as Florida has emerged from its winter omicron surge.
The state reported its lowest level of new coronavirus cases this week since the pandemic began in early 2020. Yet, it’s unclear what lies ahead for Florida and whether the pandemic lull is temporary as spring break crowds flood local bars and beaches.
The new omicron subvariant, BA.2, is causing COVID cases to rise in several European countries, and many experts believe the United States — and Florida — will see a rise in cases in the coming weeks.
Experts like Dr. Ira Longini, biostatistics professor at the University of Florida, think it is unlikely the state will see a BA.2 peak that mirrors the magnitude of the omicron wave.
If the subvariant does trigger an uptick, Florida residents will need to rely mostly on doctors and pharmacies to get tested or turn to the less reliable but readily available over-the-counter rapid tests.
“We know the virus is still circulating and that it’s possible a new variant could arrive and we would run into problems again,” said Trepka with FIU. “Things are starting to be transitioned to where COVID is covered by insurance just like it is for other health conditions like influenza. But not everyone has health insurance so it ends up putting a burden on those traditional caregivers of people who treat the uninsured. This will be especially true if we have another surge.”
Trepka notes that until now, testing in South Florida has been “very accessible” compared to other parts of the U.S.
Testing has been free and available around the clock, she said. Should a variant of the virus trigger another surge, ramping up again could take time. “It will definitely delay our response, that’s for sure.”
Although many test sites are closing, most pharmacies in South Florida are well stocked with over-the-counter rapid tests. The federal government also is making at-home rapid tests available by mail order. Those tests vary in their degree of accuracy, and experts have found they lag the gold-standard PCR tests in reliability.
“The message is if you don’t feel good just stay home, even if your rapid test is negative,” Trepka said. “It’s possible you are infected, or you could have something else.”
CVS Health, at least for now, will continue to give out COVID vaccines and tests at its Florida pharmacies — but it, too, may require the uninsured to self-pay if federal funding is not available.
“We are fully confident the administration and Congress will find a solution to help ensure people without insurance continue to have access to COVID-19 testing, vaccines and treatment,” a spokeswoman said Friday. “We are committed to working closely with federal and state officials to provide access to testing, treatments and vaccines to help support the communities we serve.”
COVID-19 test and vaccination sites still operating
Here are links to sites that remain open:
Palm Beach County test sites: https://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx
Palm Beach County vaccination sites: https://discover.pbcgov.org/PDF/COVID19/PBC-Vaccination-Sites.pdf
Broward County test sites: https://www.broward.org/CoronaVirus/pages/collection-sites.aspx
Broward County vaccination sites: https://www.broward.org/CoronaVirus/Pages/Vaccination-Sites.aspx
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