PUBLIC HEALTHMore States Protect Access to the COVID Shot as Feds Restrict Eligibility
At least 17 states have taken steps to ensure broader access to the COVID-19 vaccine since last month, when the federal government significantly restricted eligibility for the shot. The moves represent an extraordinary state rebellion against the public health authority of the federal government.
At least 17 states have taken steps to ensure broader access to the COVID-19 vaccine since last month, when the federal government significantly restricted eligibility for the shot.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin have issued orders that aim to make it easier for people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. All but Virginia have Democratic governors.
Together, the moves represent an extraordinary state rebellion against the public health authority of the federal government.
For decades, states have followed the lead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on which vaccines Americans should get, and when they should get them. Now, rejecting the antivaccine stance of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an increasing number of states say they will rely instead on their own public health experts and professional medical organizations for that advice.
Previously, the FDA recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine booster be available to anyone 6 months or older. But in August, the federal agency said the booster shot should be limited to two specific groups: people who are 65 and older, and anyone who is at least six 6 months old and has an underlying health condition, such as asthma or obesity, that increases the risk of a COVID-19 infection becoming severe.
Under the new guidelines, children under 18 without an underlying condition can only get the shot if a health care provider is consulted first, meaning parents can’t simply take their kids to a vaccination clinic or pharmacy.
“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three,” Kennedy wrote on the social media platform X on Aug. 27.
In June, Kennedy ousted the entire vaccine advisory committee at the CDC, replacing some of them with vaccine skeptics. The previous month, he announced that the federal government would no longer recommend that pregnant women get the vaccine.
Currently 43 states — all but Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, Utah and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia — allow pharmacies to administer FDA-approved shots without a prescription, according to Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS Health.
