COVID-19 vaccines still available prescription-free in Tennessee
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Although some states now require a prescription for patients who want the COVID-19 vaccine, Tennessee residents can still walk into their local pharmacy to get the latest booster.
Why it matters: Confusion is clouding annual vaccine decisions for many Americans due to changing federal recommendations and varying access.
State of play: During a meeting on Friday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s hand-picked vaccine advisers endorsed scrapping a recommendation that Americans age 65 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Instead, the 12-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended that older Americans only be vaccinated after consulting with a health provider.
- The committee said people between 6 months to 64 years old should discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with providers before making a decision.
Zoom in: The group stopped short of saying states must require patients have prescriptions to get the shot.
What's next: The CDC — currently led by Kennedy's top deputy — would need to approve the recommendations before they become official government policy.
What he's saying: Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor William Schaffner, who is an infectious disease expert, told the Nashville Banner that conflicting information about the vaccine could stop people from getting it — even if they should.
- "If we wish, and I certainly wish, to extend vaccination and its benefits to as large a number of people as possible, then you have to do everything you can to remove the barriers, so that you do everything possible to make it easy for people to get vaccinated," he said in a Sept. 15 article.
- Instead, he said, "we appear to have created a whole lot of uncertainty, anxiety, and all of these particular issues make it harder for people to get vaccinated."
How it works: To schedule a vaccine appointment at a CVS or Walgreens in Tennessee, patients are asked to verify they are eligible for the vaccine under existing FDA rules.
- All adults over 65 can get the vaccine, while adults under 65 are approved if they indicate they have health conditions that put them at a higher risk for severe outcomes. See the list.
Yes, but: Once the CDC approves the vaccine panel's latest recommendations, both major pharmacy chains said they will stop requiring patients to have an underlying condition in order to get the jab, the New York Times reported.