The U.S. government in May ended the COVID public health emergency declaration during which it bought the shots and provided them to all Americans for free. In the current privatized system, health insurance plans by law must cover the shots at no cost. McKesson (MCK.N), one of the largest U.S. wholesalers, said it has distributed over 3.8 million shots so far. "Health insurance providers continue to educate Americans about where and how to get their COVID vaccines within their plan’s coverage," David Allen, a spokesperson for insurance lobby group AHIP said. Now that the government is no longer footing the bill for their vaccine supply, pharmacy owners need to pay for the shots.

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Persons: Kate MacDowell, MacDowell, Kaiser, David Allen, AHIP, David Kohll, James Daily, he's, Suzanne Berman, Michael Erman, Ahmed Aboulenein, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Pfizer, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, COVID, Moderna, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cardinal Health, Reuters, Kohll's Pharmacy, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Portland , Oregon, Oregon, California, Nebraska, Readington , New Jersey, Crossville , Tennessee, New York, Washington