October 12, 2023

RSV Vaccine Available at No Cost to Washington's Vaccine Providers

Physician practices and organizations participating the state's Childhood Vaccine Program will be able to order and administer nirsevimab at no cost to babies at risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus illness, the result of an agreement by the Washington Vaccine Association to fund the monoclonal antibody product.

What you should know:

• Practices and organizations participating in the vaccine program should be able to order nirsevimab within two to three weeks.
• Ordering will be completed in the Immunization Information System in the same manner as childhood vaccines.
• Product should arrive in offices one to two weeks after placing an order. If you are not part of the vaccine program, you can enroll by visiting the CVP webpage.

Important note on billing for RSV vaccine

Due to a technical barrier in current state law supporting the state's vaccine program, the RSV vaccine cannot be procured by the usual process as it doesn’t meet the law’s definition of "vaccine." The Washington State Department of Health is pursuing a solution with the governor’s office for the next legislative session that would make the state law more inclusive of immunization products. DOH is advising that commercial carriers and third-party administrators should not be billed a dosage-based assessment for nirsevimab until July 1, 2024. Only administration fees should be billed. DOH staff has reassured WSMA staff that practices will be reimbursed the same amount that they otherwise would during this period.

DOH offers an RSV webpage, which goes over RSV disease and products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a variety of helpful resources around RSV. Visit the CDC’s RSV landing page here.