A pharmacy advertises Covid-19 testing and vaccinations on September 4 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Several states, including New York, are breaking strict eligibility rules imposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on newly approved Covid-19 vaccines for the fall season. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Several states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania, announced this week that they would break with the restrictive eligibility rules outlined last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for newly approved Covid-19 vaccines for the fall season.
On Friday morning in New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order authorizing pharmacists to provide the vaccine to anyone who wants it for the next 30 days, with an option to extend it.
“When they said they wouldn’t need Covid and other vaccinations for our families, I said, ‘No, here in New York, we’re going to give parents the choice.’ If you want your child to get the Covid-19 vaccine, it should be available to you and covered by insurance.” – Hochul he said during a press conference on Friday morning where she signed the order.
“So what I’m doing now is signing an executive order because extreme times call for extreme measures. And I need to use that power during the transition period until we can get the legislature back in January and pass legislation that mandates that.”
Previous FDA policy recommended making Covid-19 vaccine booster shots available to anyone 6 months of age or older, regardless of health status. But in August, the federal agency announced restrictions on the fresh shot.
The FDA has restricted vaccine access to people 65 and older and younger people with at least one underlying condition, such as asthma or obesity, that would put them at risk of developing severe disease in the absence of a booster shot. Children are eligible only after consulting a doctor. Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine, one of three approved, will no longer be available to any child under 5 years of age.
“The American people have demanded science, safety and common sense. This framework delivers all three,” US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on the social media platform. X August 27.
Other states are also taking steps to ensure more people have access to vaccines.
On Thursday, Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey ordered health insurers in the state to continue covering the vaccine. The state also issued an order allowing pharmacies to continue dispensing shots to residents over the age of 5.
Massachusetts is “leading the effort to establish public health collaborations with states in New England and throughout the Northeast committed to protecting public health as the federal government retreats from its responsibilities,” the governor’s office said in a statement. release.
The Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy held a hearing this week special meeting to vote to bypass federal vaccine recommendations and allow pharmacists to continue administering Covid-19 vaccines.
“Health care decisions should be made up to the individual – not the federal government, and certainly not RFK Jr. My administration will continue to protect access to health care for all Pennsylvanians” – Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro he said.
Colorado AND New Mexico took similar steps this week, in which state officials signed public health orders asking state agencies to take the necessary steps to require insurers to cover vaccines and instructing pharmacists to provide shots without a doctor’s note.
Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at: schatlani@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Statisticswhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
