COVID-19 Vaccines Harder To Get At Some VA Pharmacies: Here's Why

A delayed COVID-19 vaccine advisory meeting and changing policies are making it more difficult to get the shot in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and several other states, according to a report.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved new versions of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech and from Moderna, the companies announced. The newest versions are designed to target the LP.8.1 sublineage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the most recent variant that has been spreading in Virginia.

However, pharmacists are still awaiting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on who should be receiving the vaccine. In many cases, pharmacies tie their ability to administer vaccines to ACIP recommendations, according to an NBC News report.

In recent years, the committee met earlier in the summer so that shots were available ahead of the winter respiratory season, NBC News reported. This year, the committee isn't scheduled to meet until Sept. 17.

That means in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and 12 other states, residents will need a prescription to receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine until the ACIP issues its recommendations.

“States may change at any time,” CVS spokesperson Ethan Slavin told NBC News. The 13 states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

When the FDA approved the updated vaccines last week, it also revised its policy on who is eligible to receive one.

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The updated vaccines will only be available to people age 65 or older, the FDA said. Individuals 64 years old or younger can only receive the vaccine if they have at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, the FDA said. Officials have not specified which conditions qualify.

Until recently, the CDC, following recommendations by infectious disease experts, urged annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

But in May, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. A few days later, the CDC issued language that healthy children may get the shots, but that there was no longer a “should” recommendation.

The ACIP was set to make recommendations about the fall shots in June. Among the options the panel was considering was to suggest shots for high-risk groups, but still give lower-risk people the choice to get vaccinated.

But Kennedy bypassed the group and also decided to dismiss the 17-member panel, instead appointing his own, smaller panel that included vaccine skeptics. Kennedy also later excluded the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and other top medical organizations from working with the advisers to establish vaccination recommendations.

The FDA's policy change is expected to go to the vaccine advisory committee, which will make the final recommendation on who should get the shots.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.