Some Pennsylvanians will be able to more easily get a COVID-19 vaccine from their pharmacists this fall because the state Board of Pharmacy voted Wednesday to change how its policies are guided.
Amid the chaos of leadership turnover at federal health agencies, new limitations on who may receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine and no word yet from the new faces of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, some major pharmacy chains have opted to require a prescription to obtain a vaccine.
That meant many people who qualify under the new limitations set last week by the Food and Drug Administration still could not get their shots, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Shapiro called on the state Board of Pharmacy, which oversees pharmacies and pharmacists who operate in Pennsylvania, to take action to broaden access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Trump administration’s outrageous decision to limit access to the COVID vaccine is an affront to Pennsylvanians’ personal freedoms,” Shapiro said in a statement Wednesday. “I called on the State Board of Pharmacy to hold a special meeting to bring clarity to the people of Pennsylvania.”
The board is required by law to align its recommendations with the CDC’s newly restructured Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The committee, which now features several prominent vaccine skeptics, won’t meet for another two weeks. That puts pharmacies in limbo.
The Board of Pharmacy met Wednesday and voted to revise its rules to allow Pennsylvania pharmacists to follow the vaccine recommendations of medical authorities other than the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
The newly approved authorities include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. All of those bodies recommend broad access to the updated COVID-19 vaccine, beyond the federal government’s new limits.
The board also named the U.S. Food & Drug Administration among the new authorities to guide Pennsylvania pharmacies.
In a statement to the Pennsylvania State Department, CVS Pharmacy said Pennsylvania’s new rules allow CVS locations to begin administering fall COVID-19 vaccinations right away, without a prescription.
“Following today’s regulatory action by the Pennsylvania Board of Pharmacy, CVS Pharmacy will ensure COVID-19 vaccinations are available as soon as possible at our locations throughout Pennsylvania,” said Sid Tenneti, CVS Health senior vice president of retail pharmacy.
Appointments can be scheduled online or through the CVS Health app. Vaccines are also available through walk-in appointments at CVS locations.
Giant Eagle, whose pharmacy business continues to grow with the absorption of hundreds of former Rite Aid customers, could not immediately be reached for comment. Last week, a Giant Eagle spokesperson said the company was awaiting vaccine guidance from the CDC’s advisory panel before it would begin administering COVID-19 shots.
The new pharmacy board rules are the latest attempt in Pennsylvania to slow the impact of rapid policy and personnel changes at health agencies in Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh-area state Rep. Arvind Venkat introduced legislation last week that would grandfather insurance coverage requirements for vaccines that predate the Trump administration. Venkat, who is also an emergency room physician, said the bill would also require insurers in Pennsylvania to cover vaccines determined by the state Department of Health.
In a statement, Shapiro said the pharmacy board’s actions are an attempt to protect immunization access in Pennsylvania as well as provide clarity amid rapidly evolving vaccine policy at the federal level.
“Health care decisions should be up to individuals — not the federal government and certainly not RFK Jr.,” Shapiro said. “My administration will continue to protect health care access for all Pennsylvanians.”