CVS, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, has suspended COVID-19 shots in 16 states, including Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. Even vulnerable individuals who meet new, narrower requirements from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will not have access to the vaccine.
The findings come from a New York Times report published Thursday.
‘Current regulatory environment’
A spokesperson for the pharmacy chain said the vaccine was not available in those states due to “the current regulatory environment.”
Some states prohibit pharmacists from administering vaccines not recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel.
That panel isn’t scheduled to meet for another three weeks, and amid numerous resignations of high-ranking officials at the CDC, some in Congress have called for the meeting to be “indefinitely” postponed.
Last year, the panel recommended updated COVID-19 vaccines in June.
Pharmacists remain in limbo on recommendation
However, legal analysts debate whether the recommendation still applies, which has left pharmacies like CVS erring on the side of caution.
The Times reports that CVS will make the vaccines available in all states if the advisory board recommends them, but until then, the company is holding off on immunizations.
Walgreen’s requires prescription
Walgreens, the country’s second-largest pharmacy chain, did not disclose the availability of its vaccines. However, a New York Times reporter attempted to schedule vaccine appointments across every state in the United States and found that the company’s website notes that people would need a prescription to obtain a shot in 16 states.
The Times also reports that vaccine appointments were unavailable at Walgreens in many states. Doctors said this could suggest a supply problem or uncertainty among pharmacists about who they are allowed to vaccinate.
“That may be pharmacies covering themselves while all of these unanswered questions are still up in the air,” Dr. Shira Doron, the chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine, told The Times.
COVID-19 vaccination rates have dropped dramatically since the pandemic. Only 23% of adults and just 13% of children reported receiving an updated COVID-19 shot last season, according to the CDC.
Cases rising
Meanwhile, more patients are showing up at New York City hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, as The New York Times reported Friday. With the emergence of a new variant, infections from the virus are expected to rise in the coming months.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist, told The Times that restricting vaccines when COVID-19 cases are rising is “unconscionable,” and he said making it harder to get a shot could discourage people from trying.
“It’s just raising more and more barriers,” Chin-Hong said. “It’s an obstacle course.”
“I don’t know anyone who’s not confused,’ he said.
The CDC says COVID-19 cases are now growing in most states, and a recent assessment from the agency finds that there is a nearly 80% chance that the number of infections in New York will continue to rise. Currently, hospitalization for the virus remains low in the Empire State.
