Whitmer signs order for COVID vaccine access
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is reaffirming her support for COVID vaccine access amid changing guidance at the federal level.
The big picture: Some states are making their own vaccine rules to bypass Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine restrictions.
- They're passing new legislation, executive orders, standing actions and pharmacy board directives, according to the Common Health Coalition.
- Western states have even formed a vaccine alliance.
Zoom in: Whitmer signed an executive order Wednesday directing state agencies to "ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are available to Michiganders who wish to access them."
What they're saying: "Not everyone wants the COVID vaccine," Natasha Bagdasarian, the state's chief medical executive, told the Free Press. "If people don't want a COVID vaccine, they don't have to get a COVID vaccine, but this is about ensuring accessibility for those who want the vaccine."
State of play: Kennedy's vaccine advisers on Friday unanimously endorsed scrapping a recommendation that Americans age 65 and older get a COVID vaccine — but stopped short of saying they needed a prescription for the shot.
Go deeper: See actions by state.