Mass. changes vaccine access rules as RFK Jr. faces scrutiny

Massachusetts changes vaccine access rules as RFK Jr. faces Senate scrutiny

Healey accuses the Trump administration of health policy failures.

WE’RE INTERRUPTING PROGRAMING BECAUSE AMIDST THE TURMOIL AT THE CDC, THE MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR IS MAKING SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT VACCINES, SPECIFICALLY COVID VACCINES. THEY’VE BEEN NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND SO FAR IN MASSACHUSETTS THIS FALL. LET’S LISTEN TO GOVERNOR MAURA HEALEY. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. WE’RE HERE THIS AFTERNOON TO MAKE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH AND VACCINE AVAILABILITY IN MASSACHUSETTS. I’M DELIGHTED TO BE JOINED BY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR KIM DRISCOLL, OUR SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. KIM MAHONEY. DOCTOR ROBBIE GOLDSTEIN, OUR COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC HEALTH, COMMISSIONER MIKE CALLEJO OF THE DIVISION OF INSURANCE, UNDERSECRETARY OF MASSHEALTH MIKE LEVINE, MATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GROUP INSURANCE COMMISSION. WE ALSO HAVE FROM THE LEGISLATURE OUR HOUSE CHAIR, MARJORIE DECKER OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVE LAWN, CHAIR OF THE HEALTH CARE FINANCING COMMITTEE AND REPRESENTATIVE KAREN’S VICE CHAIR OF PUBLIC HEALTH. WE’RE ALSO JOINED TODAY BY LEADERS FROM ACROSS OUR TERRIFIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS. LAURA PELLEGRINI OF THE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS, DOCTOR BEN KRUSKAL OF THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MASSACHUSETTS, RYAN ABRAMS, THE MASSACHUSETTS PHARMACIST ASSOCIATION, VAL FLEISCHMAN AND STEVE WALSH, MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH AND HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION DOCTOR OLIVIA LIAO OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY. KRISTEN LEWIS OF POINT 32 HEALTH. CARLENE PAVLOS, MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE WALTER RAMOS, LEADING EDGE, MASSACHUSETTS. AMY ROSENTHAL OF HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE RICH DAVEY FROM MASSPORT. MASSACHUSETTS HAS THE BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE COUNTRY. WE DO MASSACHUSETTS. WE HAVE THE BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE COUNTRY. WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST HOSPITALS. OUR SCIENTISTS DEVELOP VACCINES AND MEDICINES THAT SAVE LIVES AROUND THE WORLD. MORE PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS GET LIFE SAVING TREATMENTS, MEDICATIONS AND VACCINES THAN ANY OTHER STATE. PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS ARE HEALTHIER THAN PEOPLE IN NEARLY EVERY OTHER STATE. AND THAT’S BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT, AND PUBLIC HEALTH IS A RESPONSIBILITY. WE BUILT A STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM EVERYBODY STANDING ALONGSIDE ME HERE TODAY. THIS IS A STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM THAT’S BACKED BY SCIENCE. THAT GETS PEOPLE THE HEALTH CARE THAT THEY NEED. NOW, HISTORICALLY, WE KNOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN A PARTNER IN THIS WORK. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THE CDC HAS BEEN HIJACKED BY PEOPLE LIKE ROBERT KENNEDY, PEOPLE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN SCIENCE AND PEOPLE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN SCIENCE BASED HEALTH CARE. AS A RESULT, THE GOVERNMENT IS FAILING ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO AMERICANS, INCLUDING BAY STATERS. SO WE’RE HERE TO SAY THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN MASSACHUSETTS, IN MASSACHUSETTS. WE WILL NOT LET DONALD TRUMP OR ROBERT KENNEDY GET IN THE WAY OF PATIENTS AND THE CARE AND THE TREATMENTS AND THE MEDICATION THAT THEY WANT AND NEED. SO TODAY, I’M ANNOUNCING SEVERAL STEPS, SEVERAL STEPS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE GET THE MEDICATION AND THE VACCINES THAT THEY WANT AND NEED. SO HERE’S WHAT WE’RE DOING. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NO STATE HAS YET DONE. INSURANCE PLANS IN MASSACHUSETTS WILL CONTINUE TO COVER THE VACCINES RECOMMENDED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY OR APPOINTEE SAYS. THIS REQUIREMENT HAS NOW BEEN FORMALIZED IN A JOINT BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE STATE DIVISION OF INSURANCE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH. IT WILL COVER THE FULL RANGE OF RECOMMENDED VACCINES, INCLUDING FLU, COVID, AS WELL AS CHILDREN’S VACCINES LIKE MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA, CHICKENPOX AND MORE. AS KIDS HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL AND MANY OF OUR KIDS HEADED BACK TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN GET THE IMMUNIZATIONS THAT THEY NEED TO STAY HEALTHY, AS WELL AS OUR TEACHERS AND OUR FAMILIES. OUR INSURANCE PLANS ARE HERE TODAY. THEY ARE HERE TODAY SUPPORTIVE, AND I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THEIR PRESENCE AND FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS WORK AS WE MOVE FORWARD. I ALSO WANT TO THANK MASSHEALTH AND GIC, WHICH IS THE PLAN THAT COVERS MANY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR TAKING THE SAME STEP TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE COVERED. BOTTOM LINE, NO ONE IN THE GREAT STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS IS GOING TO BE DENIED BECAUSE OF COST. NO ONE SECOND IN MASSACHUSETTS, CVS, WALGREENS AND OTHER PHARMACIES WILL CONTINUE TO SCHEDULE AND GIVE VACCINES, INCLUDING FOR THE FLU AND COVID. NOW, LAST FRIDAY, COMMISSIONER GOLDSTEIN, AT MY DIRECTION, ISSUED A STANDING ORDER THAT ENSURES THAT PHARMACIES CAN PROVIDE A COVID VACCINE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS IT. ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THIS MEANS AND THE COMMISSIONER IS A DOCTOR. HE WROTE A PRESCRIPTION FOR EVERY MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT THAT COVERS EVERYONE IN THIS STATE. IN ADDITION, THIS MORNING, DPH UPDATED ITS POLICY SO THAT THE COMMISSIONER AND NOT THE CDC, WILL DETERMINE WHICH VACCINES CAN BE ADMINISTERED BY PHARMACISTS IN MASSACHUSETTS. I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE IS CONCERN. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CALLING PHARMACIES AND NOT ABLE TO GET APPOINTMENTS BECAUSE OF CHANGES MADE BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THAT CHANGES TODAY, AT LEAST IN MASSACHUSETTS, BECAUSE OF WHAT WE’RE ANNOUNCING TODAY. STARTING TOMORROW, PHARMACISTS WILL BE SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS AND GIVING VACCINES APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER AS. AND AS I SAY, THAT’S GOING TO START TOMORROW. ALL RIGHT. WE WERE JUST FINALIZING IT. BUT THAT’S TOMORROW GOES INTO EFFECT. PHARMACISTS WILL BE SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS AND ADMINISTERING VACCINES APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER. I’M GRATEFUL TO CVS, TO WALGREENS AND PHARMACIES FOR THEIR COMMUNICATION AND THEIR COLLABORATION TO MAKE SURE THIS HAPPENED QUICKLY OVER THE PAST WEEK. THIRD, MOVING FORWARD, WE WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE HERE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THAT IS WHY I’M ANNOUNCING THAT WE’RE FORMING A PUBLIC HEALTH COLLABORATION WITH STATES IN NEW ENGLAND AND ACROSS THE NORTHEAST. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SOME TIME NOW. WE WILL LEAD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW THINGS. FIRST, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFE, SCIENCE BASED, SCIENCE BACKED VACCINES THAT PATIENTS, DOCTORS, PHARMACISTS AND HEALTH PLANS CAN RELY ON. SECOND, WE’LL WORK TO PROTECT AND SUSTAIN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH LABS. OUR DISEASE MONITORING, OUR SURVEILLANCE AND OUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. WE’LL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THIS SHORTLY AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BUT REST ASSURED, WHEREVER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS CREATED A DEVASTATING AND HARMFUL GAP, WE WILL LOOK TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH OF RESIDENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS AND WORK WITH OUR SISTER STATES TO STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH OF AMERICANS. PEOPLE HERE WILL CONTINUE TO GET THE CARE AND THE PROTECTION THAT THEY NEED. IT’S A PRETTY SAD STATEMENT THAT WE CAN NO LONGER TRUST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON THIS, BUT SADLY, THAT’S WHERE WE’RE AT. WE’VE ALREADY SEEN MORE THAN A MILLION CUT FROM CRITICAL IMMUNIZATION FUNDING. THE LOSS OF FUNDING FOR ASTHMA PREVENTION AND EDUCATION. RESTRICTIONS ON FUNDING FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER, HIV PREVENTION AND TREATMENT THREATS, AND ATTEMPTS TO CUT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MORE IN PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDING. THREATS TO ROLL BACK ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE. AND THAT’S ON TOP OF ALL THE CUTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE TO FOOD, TO HEALTH CARE, TO HOUSING, TO MEDICAL RESEARCH THAT ARE HURTING CHILDREN, HURTING SENIORS, HURTING FAMILIES, HURTING PUBLIC HEALTH OF AMERICANS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY. SO, MASSACHUSETTS, WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET THIS STAND. WE ARE TAKING A STAND. WE ARE A HEALTH CARE LEADER, AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OR ROBERT KENNEDY COST LIVES AND TAKE US DOWN WHEN OTHERS FAIL TO DO THEIR JOB. AND THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND BY THE WAY, TO ANYONE WHO SUPPORTED ROBERT KENNEDY IN HIS NOMINATION, WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, FOLKS? OKAY, SO TO THOSE WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING, SHAME ON YOU. AND TO REPUBLICANS OR ANY OTHER POLITICIAN OR ANYONE RUNNING FOR OFFICE OUT THERE, IF YOU DON’T TAKE THIS MOMENT TO STEP UP AND SUPPORT PUBLIC HEALTH, THERE IS NOTHING MORE CORE THAT WE DO IN GOVERNMENT THAN TO LOOK OUT FOR THE HEALTH, THE SAFETY, THE WELL-BEING OF OUR RESIDENTS, OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR STATES. YOU SAW THE TESTIMONY THIS MORNING FROM OUR PURPORTED UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. IT’S DESPICABLE. IT’S SHAMEFUL. IT’S NOT RIGHT. BUT I AM PROUD TO BE GOVERNOR OF A STATE WITH GREAT HEALTH CARE LEADERS AND A STATE THAT’S ALWAYS VALUED INVESTMENTS, NOT JUST IN HEALTH, BUT IN PUBLIC HEALTH. BECAUSE I BELIEVE, AS GOVERNOR, THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS A RESPONSIBILITY. I NOW LIKE TO INVITE UP COMMISSIONER GOLDSTEIN. I WANT TO THANK COMMISSIONER GOLDSTEIN, AS WELL AS DPH CHIEF OF STAFF EMILY DALEY, FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT THEY DID ALONGSIDE GABE VIATOR, MY SENIOR ADVISOR, IN MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD A RIGHT AND READY RESPONSE TO THE DERELICTION O

Political Reporter and Co-Host of WCVB’s “On The Record”

While U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a contentious congressional hearing about turmoil at the nation’s health agencies, Massachusetts leaders were making changes they said would improve vaccine availability regardless of federal policies.CVS said it was working to make COVID-19 vaccines “available as soon as possible” throughout Massachusetts as a result of the regulatory changes announced Thursday. Walgreens is also expected to make the shots available. Gov. Maura Healey vowed not to let President Donald Trump or RFK Jr. “get between patients and their doctors.””It’s a pretty sad statement that we can no longer trust the federal government on this but, sadly, that’s where we’re at,” Gov. Maura Healey said. In Washington, RFK Jr. testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. He was grilled over layoffs and planned budget cuts that detractors say are wrecking the nation’s ability to prevent disease.Kennedy recently fired Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist he installed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director for less than a month, and has sought to reshape the nation’s vaccine policies to match his long-standing suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of long-established shots.Monarez wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Kennedy was trying to weaken public health protections.“I was told to preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric,” Monarez wrote. “It is imperative that the panel’s recommendations aren’t rubber-stamped but instead are rigorously and scientifically reviewed before being accepted or rejected.”Kennedy told senators he did not make such an ultimatum, though he did concede that he ordered Monarez to fire career CDC scientists.While telling the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that anyone could get a COVID-19 booster shot, Kennedy also acknowledged that access “depends on the state.”That came during a heated exchange with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Kennedy was contradicting promises made during his confirmation hearings that he would not restrict vaccine access.“It’s not recommended for healthy people,” Kennedy went on.Video below: RFK Jr.’s testimony gets heatedGov. Maura Healey announced Thursday that the Department of Public Health updated its vaccine administration policy to permit the DPH commissioner to determine which routine vaccines can be administered by pharmacists in Massachusetts. Pharmacists were previously limited to only the vaccines recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which led CVS and Walgreens to not offer COVID-19 vaccines in the state.CDC data showed that 90% of adults who received their COVID-19 shot during the 2024-2025 season received it at a pharmacy. The change to vaccine administration policy follows a standing order issued last week by DPH Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein, which allowed pharmacies to provide COVID-19 vaccines to residents aged 5 and older.Additionally, the governor said that the Division of Insurance and the Department of Public Health will require insurance carriers to cover vaccines recommended by the DPH. The governor’s office said this bulletin makes Massachusetts the first state to guarantee insurance coverage of vaccines recommended by the state. Examples included in the announcement were childhood vaccines for diseases like measles, chickenpox and Hepatitis B, and respiratory virus vaccines like COVID-19, flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.Healey said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans support this state action.”Wherever the federal government has created a devastating and harmful gap, we will look to do everything we can to protect the public health of those in Massachusetts and work with our sister states to stand up and fight for and protect the public health of Americans,” Healey said. “Massachusetts will not allow ideology to override evidence. We must continue to be guided by science and data. And we must do what is right, even when it is hard, because protecting public health is not optional, it is a responsibility – a promise – we make to every resident of our Commonwealth,” Goldstein said in a statement.Finally, Healey on Thursday provided a little new information about efforts to form a public health collaboration among several Northeast states. She said the group will develop “evidence-based recommendations on vaccinations, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and supporting state public health labs.”Last month, the governor also filed legislation that would give DPH authority to set independent standards for vaccine purchasing and recommendations. “We’re not going to let the Trump administration or Robert Kennedy cost lives and take us down,” Healey said. “By the way, to anyone who supported Robert Kennedy and his nomination: What did you think was going to happen folks? So to those who had the opportunity to stop this from happening, shame on you.”

BOSTON —

While U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a contentious congressional hearing about turmoil at the nation’s health agencies, Massachusetts leaders were making changes they said would improve vaccine availability regardless of federal policies.

CVS said it was working to make COVID-19 vaccines “available as soon as possible” throughout Massachusetts as a result of the regulatory changes announced Thursday. Walgreens is also expected to make the shots available.

Gov. Maura Healey vowed not to let President Donald Trump or RFK Jr. “get between patients and their doctors.”

“It’s a pretty sad statement that we can no longer trust the federal government on this but, sadly, that’s where we’re at,” Gov. Maura Healey said.

In Washington, RFK Jr. testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. He was grilled over layoffs and planned budget cuts that detractors say are wrecking the nation’s ability to prevent disease.

Kennedy recently fired Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist he installed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director for less than a month, and has sought to reshape the nation’s vaccine policies to match his long-standing suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of long-established shots.

Monarez wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Kennedy was trying to weaken public health protections.

“I was told to preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric,” Monarez wrote. “It is imperative that the panel’s recommendations aren’t rubber-stamped but instead are rigorously and scientifically reviewed before being accepted or rejected.”

Kennedy told senators he did not make such an ultimatum, though he did concede that he ordered Monarez to fire career CDC scientists.

While telling the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that anyone could get a COVID-19 booster shot, Kennedy also acknowledged that access “depends on the state.”

That came during a heated exchange with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Kennedy was contradicting promises made during his confirmation hearings that he would not restrict vaccine access.

“It’s not recommended for healthy people,” Kennedy went on.

Video below: RFK Jr.’s testimony gets heated

Gov. Maura Healey announced Thursday that the Department of Public Health updated its vaccine administration policy to permit the DPH commissioner to determine which routine vaccines can be administered by pharmacists in Massachusetts. Pharmacists were previously limited to only the vaccines recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which led CVS and Walgreens to not offer COVID-19 vaccines in the state.

CDC data showed that 90% of adults who received their COVID-19 shot during the 2024-2025 season received it at a pharmacy.

The change to vaccine administration policy follows a standing order issued last week by DPH Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein, which allowed pharmacies to provide COVID-19 vaccines to residents aged 5 and older.

Additionally, the governor said that the Division of Insurance and the Department of Public Health will require insurance carriers to cover vaccines recommended by the DPH. The governor’s office said this bulletin makes Massachusetts the first state to guarantee insurance coverage of vaccines recommended by the state.

Examples included in the announcement were childhood vaccines for diseases like measles, chickenpox and Hepatitis B, and respiratory virus vaccines like COVID-19, flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.

Healey said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans support this state action.

“Wherever the federal government has created a devastating and harmful gap, we will look to do everything we can to protect the public health of those in Massachusetts and work with our sister states to stand up and fight for and protect the public health of Americans,” Healey said.

“Massachusetts will not allow ideology to override evidence. We must continue to be guided by science and data. And we must do what is right, even when it is hard, because protecting public health is not optional, it is a responsibility – a promise – we make to every resident of our Commonwealth,” Goldstein said in a statement.

Finally, Healey on Thursday provided a little new information about efforts to form a public health collaboration among several Northeast states. She said the group will develop “evidence-based recommendations on vaccinations, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and supporting state public health labs.”

Last month, the governor also filed legislation that would give DPH authority to set independent standards for vaccine purchasing and recommendations.

“We’re not going to let the Trump administration or Robert Kennedy cost lives and take us down,” Healey said. “By the way, to anyone who supported Robert Kennedy and his nomination: What did you think was going to happen folks? So to those who had the opportunity to stop this from happening, shame on you.”