CVS and Walgreens restrict COVID vaccines in Colorado
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CVS is one of the nation's two largest pharmacies now restricting access to COVID vaccines. Photo: Gabriela Bhaskar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Changes around COVID vaccine access are causing confusion in Colorado and beyond just as the CDC is reporting a nationwide spike in cases and emergency room visits.
Why it matters: The uncertainty comes as the federal health agency struggles with its own internal chaos and fallout from a new COVID vaccine policy issued this week by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The latest: As of Friday, due to the "current regulatory environment," CVS is now requiring prescriptions for COVID shots in Colorado and roughly a dozen other states, said CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault. Only people ages 5-64 with an underlying condition are eligible to receive the shot.
- The pharmacy is offering vaccinations without a prescription in 34 states, and completely barring access in three.
- Those lists "may change at any time," Thibault said.
- Following Kennedy's decision, The New York Times reported that Walgreens also restricted vaccines in more than a dozen states, including requiring a prescription in Colorado.
Context: Typically, pharmacists can administer vaccines once the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends them.
- In past years, ACIP moved quickly after FDA approval. But this fall, the panel won't meet until late September — and may forgo recommending the COVD shot entirely.
- Kennedy recently replaced the entire ACIP with numerous members who are vaccine skeptics.
State of play: The CDC this week is reeling from walkouts and resignations after Kennedy blasted staff and changed COVID vaccine guidance.
- Still, Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is sticking by his endorsement of Kennedy's nomination as Health and Human Services Secretary, 9News reports.
Go deeper: States where you can get a COVID vaccine at CVS following RFK Jr. changes