PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — As fall approaches and respiratory illness season looms, health officials in the Delaware Valley are taking steps to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines and address public confusion over changing federal guidelines.
An executive directive issued this week by the New Jersey Department of Health allows anyone 6 months or older to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. A standing order also authorizes pharmacists to administer the shot without a prescription to individuals ages 3 and older.
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“We want New Jerseyans to be clear. If they want a COVID-19 vaccine, they can get one,” said Acting Commissioner Jeff Brown of the New Jersey Department of Health.
The state-level action follows recent changes at the federal level that have caused uncertainty. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently rescinded its Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and limited eligibility to individuals 65 and older or those under 65 who are at high risk.
“Before we issued this, pharmacies were stocking the vaccines, but in a lot of cases, screening patients for high-risk conditions before they could get an appointment,” Brown said. “Among consumers, there was confusion about what qualifies as a high-risk condition and what doesn’t.”
Earlier this month, CVS announced it would stop offering the vaccine in several states, including Pennsylvania, citing the current regulatory environment, even for individuals who met the new qualifications.
“There was a lot of people calling confused, as if they weren’t sure if they were allowed to get the vaccine, also they weren’t sure if the insurance would cover the vaccine,” said Mayank Amin, owner of Skippack Pharmacy.
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In response, organizations like the Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association, along with Governor Josh Shapiro, urged the state board of pharmacy to take action. During an emergency meeting, the board voted to allow pharmacists to follow vaccine recommendations from trusted authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians instead of waiting for guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which was not scheduled to meet until October.
“Pharmacies now can administer these vaccines to many more patients who want these vaccines this fall,” said Rob Frankil, executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Retail Druggists. “That’s making available these vaccines for people who want them so they can make their own choice, and at the end of the day, that’s going to keep the population healthier.”
Pharmacists say the public has responded positively.
“Since the vaccine was released, we’ve done a lot of doses,” said Marc Ost of Eric’s Rx Shoppe.
“From our standpoint, as a community pharmacy, we’re trusted healthcare providers. Our goal is we want to be able to provide vaccines to those who want it, but also in a lot of situations in schools and long-term care facilities to those that need it and are required to get it.”
“There has been tons and tons of people calling our pharmacy asking us when we would be able to administer the vaccines we had already received. Moderna and Pfizer are the ones we recently got, and we started administering right after the announcement came out,” added Amin.
Health officials in NJ emphasized that while these state-level actions improve access, they do not guarantee insurance coverage across all plans, but officials believe the measures succeed in making immunization easier for those who want it.
“The goal of this order is to make sure anybody who chooses to get a COVID-19 vaccine can get one,” Brown said.
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