States break with FDA, roll out broader access to vaccines
Vaccine policy is fracturing along party lines as some blue states are stepping up to defy federal vaccine restrictions, increasing the likelihood of a patchwork of policies.
Some Democratic-led states are choosing to increase access to vaccines after the Trump administration restricted who is eligible for COVID-19 shots.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the shots for adults 65 and older and younger Americans but only if they have an underlying health condition that places then at risk of complications from COVID. Previously, the shots were available to everyone 6 months and older, regardless of their health.
Massachusetts has become the first state to impose its own rules requiring health insurance companies to cover immunizations recommended by the state’s health department.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) issued an executive order Friday allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines for the next 30 days. Hawaii announced Thursday it would join a group of West Coast states forming their own public health alliance aimed at providing “evidence-based immunization guidance.”
Last week, New Mexico’s health department issued an order to remove potential barriers and ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for all residents at pharmacies across the state.
Amid the confusion over eligibility, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the CEOs of Walgreens and CVS, pressing them on why updated vaccines are so difficult for people in some states to attain.
Markey in the letter cited growing confusion and regulatory breakdowns as some of the major barriers to vaccine access at the nation’s largest pharmacy chains.
“Congress has an obligation to determine who is responsible for this breakdown—whether the fault lies with federal regulators, state authorities, corporate policy, or somewhere else—and to ensure Americans regain timely, equitable access to vaccines,” Markey wrote.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
President Trump on Friday expressed reservations about Florida moving to eliminate school vaccine mandates, calling it a “very tough position” and arguing some vaccines are uncontroversial. “I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, citing the polio vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed during his first term. …
Former Obama administration adviser and CNN political commentator Van Jones on Thursday slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “making America sicker again” by encouraging the dismantling of vaccine requirements. Prior to his Senate confirmation, Kennedy launched the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda in an effort to weed out chronic diseases by reforming the country’s food, health and …
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed an executive order Friday authorizing pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines. The order will be in place for the next 30 days while the governor comes up with a “long-term legislative solution” on vaccine access, according to a statement from Hochul’s office. “I promised New Yorkers that their family would be my fight,” Hochul said in a statement. “In the absence …
Trump on RFK Jr. after combative hearing: ‘I like the fact that he’s different’
President Trump on Thursday expressed his support for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following a contentious Senate hearing. Kennedy faced withering criticism from Democrats, and even some Republicans expressed unhappiness with the chaos Kennedy is causing by meddling in the country’s vaccine policies. Trump, during a dinner with some of the nation’s leading tech CEOs, said Kennedy “means …
