Health Partners Plans (HPP) is committed to the health and wellbeing of all our members, providers and the communities we serve. HPP is closely monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 virus (coronavirus), and we’re frequently communicating with local and federal officials to learn the most up-to-date information.

This page is updated frequently and includes resources and information to assist our provider network.

Caring for Patients

• Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes.
• Some patients with COVID-19 may progress to dyspnea and severe disease about one week after symptom onset.

Providers should consider the patient’s age, presence of underlying medical conditions and other risk factors, and vaccination status in determining the risk of severe COVID-19-associated outcomes for any patient. Severe outcomes of COVID-19 are defined as hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death.

Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States

In the United States, COVID-19 monovalent booster vaccination was previously recommended, but related protection decreased after the emergence of Omicron subvariants. In fall 2022, CDC recommended a bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for persons aged ≥5 years, administered ≥2 months after completing the primary series or after receipt of a monovalent booster dose.

• The following COVID-19 vaccines, categorized into three vaccine types, are mRNA vaccines
  • Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine/SPIKEVAX (1) and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent
  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine/COMIRNATY (2) and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent
  • Protein subunit vaccine
    • Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted
    • Adenovirus vector vaccine
      • Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine

Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is authorized for adults ages 18 years and older in certain limited situations due to safety considerations (see Appendix A).

COVID-19 vaccine products (see Table 1) are formulated as follows:

• Monovalent vaccine: The vaccine product is based on the original (ancestral) strain of SARS-CoV-2
• Bivalent vaccine: The vaccine product is based on the original (ancestral) strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 (BA.4/BA.5) variants of SARS-CoV-2

None of the currently FDA-approved or FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are live-virus vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccination schedule for people who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised:

Age group	Number of primary series  doses	Number of bivalent booster doses	Recommended bivalent booster dose*	Interval between 1st and 2nd primary series dose†	Interval between 2nd and 3rd primary series dose	Interval between primary series and booster dose‡
Moderna primary series
6 months–4 years	2	1	Moderna	4–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
5 years	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	4–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
6–11 years	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	4–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
12 years and older	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	4–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
Novavax primary series
12 years and older	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	3–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
Pfizer-BioNTech primary series
6 months–4 years	3§	NA	NA	3–8 weeks	At least 8 weeks	NA
5 years	2	1	Pfizer-BioNTech	3–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
6–11 years	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	3–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months
12 years and older	2	1	Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech	3–8 weeks	NA	At least 2 months

 

• As of January 26, 2023, EVUSHELD^TM is not currently authorized for SARS-CoV-2 pre-exposure prophylaxis in the United States.

CDC guidance on clinical considerations.

COVID-19 County Check

Visit CDC.gov to find community levels and prevention steps by county. County data is updated weekly.

Billing Update for 2022 COVID-19 Vaccine and Monoclonal Antibodies

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has instructed Health Partners Plans that effective for dates of service on and after January 1, 2022, COVID-19 vaccines and monoclonal antibodies provided to patients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan are to be billed and reimbursed by the plan.

If you have any questions, please contact our Provider Services Helpline at 1-888-991-9023, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. 

• Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines
• Improving Ventilation
• Getting Tested for COVID-19 If Needed
• Following Recommendations for What to Do If You Have Been Exposed
• Staying Home If You Have Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
• Seeking Treatment If You Have COVID-19 and Are at High Risk of Getting Very Sick
• Avoiding Contact with People Who Have Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19