Louisiana is heading into respiratory virus season on the downswing from a busy summer of COVID-19, when wastewater samples showed some of the nation’s highest virus levels. But health officials caution that COVID is unusual: unlike flu or RSV, it typically peaks twice, once in summer and again around January. That makes fall an ideal time to get a vaccine, especially because newly formulated shots protect against the latest strain.
But this year, new federal recommendations are complicating access. Few drug stores are carrying the vaccine in Louisiana right now, and patients are currently unable to walk in and get a shot, even if they qualify under new the new rules.
That has left doctors fielding questions from patients and personal contacts alike, said Dr. Margot Anderson, an infectious disease specialist at Manning Family Children’s Hospital.
“There’s a lot of unknowns for everybody, for the pharmacies, for patients, for doctors,” Anderson said.
Most routine vaccines are available at pharmacies by design, because preventative wellness – as opposed seeking out care once you’re already sick – needs to be as easy as possible for people to participate. Calling around for availability and potentially paying out of pocket for the vaccine will discourage uptake. Anderson encourages all families to get the COVID-19 vaccine to prevent needing to see a doctor or serious illness, but says it’s a challenge for families who might be asked to pay $200 for it out of pocket.
New rules
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 16, 2025.
AP Photo by Jose Luis Magana
In prior years, COVID-19 shots were recommended for anyone 6 months and older. Under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration authorized updated COVID shots only for adults 65 and older and those with at least one health condition that puts them at higher risk for severe disease. For the first time, healthy younger people will need a prescription to be vaccinated.
In Louisiana, that change has created confusion. Louisiana pharmacy law allows pharmacists to give vaccines without a prescription, as long as the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommends them. If the CDC removes or limits its recommendation, pharmacists lose that authority, said Sara Al-Dahir, a vaccine researcher and clinical professor at Xavier University.
A decision by ACIP is expected within a month, and it could heavily influence whether drugstores carry the shots and whether pediatricians will be able to give them to patients.
No availability at CVS, Walgreens
CVS said they will currently only administer shots with a prescription, though appointments were unavailable for any age group in Louisiana on their website Wednesday. Walgreens did not respond to questions about availability, but their website said a prescription was required in Louisiana, even for those who meet recommendations.
That leaves pharmacists like Al-Dahir caught “on both ends”: unable to give vaccines without a doctor’s order, and often unable to bill insurers even when one is written because they will not reimburse for someone who doesn’t qualify.
Independent drugstores also face logistical challenges. Former State Sen. Fred Mills, a pharmacist in St. Martin Parish, said wholesalers require them to buy 10 vials at a time, at a cost of about $1,100, with just a few weeks before expiration. Without health authorities encouraging vaccination, few people are asking for it.
“The demand has literally dried up,” Mills said. “You might get two people that want it, and you end up eating eight of them.”
Health authorities silent
Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK
The Louisiana Department of Health did not respond to questions about availability, guidance or cost. Dr. Ralph Abraham, the state surgeon general, has often criticized the COVID vaccine. Last year, LDH employees were forbidden from promoting seasonal vaccines and Abraham ended long-standing mass vaccination efforts such as flu fairs.
Some of Louisiana’s largest health systems, including Ochsner Health and LCMC Health, did not respond to questions about whether they are stocking doses. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Louisiana’s largest insurer, did not respond to questions about reimbursement.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy said the restrictions are already hurting vulnerable patients.
“There have been restrictions effectively placed on access to COVID vaccines,” Cassidy said. “We’ve got to fix that problem.”
At the same time, Cassidy echoed calls for transparency, citing President Donald Trump’s demand this week for the release of additional vaccine data.
“Many people think they are a miracle that saved millions of lives. Others disagree,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I want the answer, and I want it NOW.”
Dozens of studies have shown the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Early clinical trials demonstrated high efficacy against symptomatic infection. As the coronavirus evolved, the drug was less effective, but still prevented severe illness and death. From late September 2023 through August 2024, COVID vaccines prevented an estimated 107,000 hospitalizations and nearly 7,000 deaths nationwide. People who got the updated COVID vaccine in fall 2024 had about a 45% lower risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with people who weren’t vaccinated with that version.
ACIP is scheduled to review the COVID vaccine on Sept. 18.
Al-Dahir said she and her colleagues are exploring an amendment to Louisiana pharmacy regulations that would allow recommendations from other medical groups, such as the American Medical Association, to guide practice if federal guidance is lacking.
Dr. Nora Oates, a pediatrician at Hales Pediatrics, said families are pressing her with questions she can’t answer due to the lack of clarity.
“I just spoke with a family who is eagerly looking for the vaccine for their three-year-old because they have an infant coming in two weeks, and at this point, this is a challenge,” she said. “Our patients deserve recommendations based on proper science.”