COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Shared Clinical Decision-Making
The CDC recently revised recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination by (i) removing the recommendation for pregnant women to receive the vaccine and (ii) that individuals ages 6 months to 17 years may receive the vaccine using a shared clinical decision-making (SCDM) approach. The SCDM recommendations are meant to be flexible and informed by the characteristics, values, and preferences of the individual patient (or guardian) and the clinical discretion of the health care provider.
There are now five vaccines that follow the SCDM approach rather than routine, catch-up, or risk-based approach where the default is to “vaccinate, unless contraindicated”.
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- Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccination for adolescents and young adults aged 16–23 years
- Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccination for adults aged 60 years and older with diabetes mellitus
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for adults aged 27–45 years
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV20 or PCV21) for adults aged 65 years and older who have completed the recommended vaccine series with both PCV13 (at any age) and PPSV23 (which was administered at age ≥65 years)
- COVID-19 for individuals 6 months to 17 years
Multiple organizations have objected to these changes and some have even filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PAAS Tips:
- While PAAS has NOT seen PBMs request documentation related to SCDM, we recommend that pharmacies document in the event of future audits
- CDC has SCDM Job Aids for four of the five SCDM vaccine recommendations; however, no such COVID-19 Job Aid exists as of early July 2025 due to recency of the revised recommendation
- We suggest pharmacies download the most current CDC adult and adolescent immunization schedules
I obtained my PharmD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and worked for a major chain as well as various LTC and independent pharmacies, before coming to PAAS.
I am passionate about learning and teaching. I strive to learn something new about PBM audits every day, so that PAAS can be more knowledgeable to better serve our members! In 2018, I started traveling to state pharmacy conferences to present audit seminars and meet our wonderful members in person.
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