Federal restrictions on the latest Covid-19 vaccine are affecting pharmacies across Virginia, including in Arlington.
Virginia is one of almost a dozen states where, at least for the time being, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring many patients to have a prescription in order to receive updated Covid-19 shots.
It’s a state of affairs that could change once the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) acts next week, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault told ARLnow.
ACIP is scheduled to meet from Sept. 18-19. The Virginia Department of Health said in a Friday press release that it “anticipates that ACIP will vote on the updated COVID-19 vaccines at this meeting.”
“If approved by the CDC, pharmacists will be able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine,” the department said.
The health agency encouraged Virginians to contact their health-care providers to ask about receiving the vaccine or request a prescription.
County spokesperson Ryan Hudson deferred to the Virginia Department of Health’s statement when asked for comment on Arlington Public Health’s current guidance to local residents.
The debut of the updated Covid-19 vaccines has gotten off to a clunky start in many states, including Virginia. Limits on who can get the shots and prescription requirements have been confusing customers and leaving some people worried about whether they will get protection from the virus this fall.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has insisted that everyone who wants a shot still can get one after consulting with a doctor, but he also told a Senate committee hearing Thursday that this access “depends on the states.”
The situation is changing daily and varies by state. And it may take time for vaccine-seekers to understand how the system works now for them.
“We anticipate it will get to be a little bit more of a smooth road in the coming weeks,” said Brigid Groves, a vice president with the American Pharmacists Association.
One Reston resident, Michelle Newmark, has tried — and failed — a couple times to get the vaccine.
First, she was told she needed a prescription. Then she learned that her local CVS drugstore won’t have shots for a couple more weeks. Newmark was considering a drive to Maryland to get vaccinated before a friend told her of a closer CVS that was booking appointments.
What was once a simple process has become “a whole different beast this year,” Newmark told the Associated Press.
“It’s very frustrating that I can’t get a vaccine that I feel should be widely available like it always has been in the past,” she said.
New limits on who can get a vaccine also are raising questions among customers. Previously in the United States, the vaccines were recommended for people ages 6 months and older.
But the recent FDA approval limits the shots for people age 65 and older and those younger who have a health condition that makes them high-risk for a serious case of COVID-19.
Doctors and pharmacists say they still expect many people to qualify for the shots because the list of conditions that would make someone high-risk is long. It includes ex-smokers and people who are physically inactive. And pharmacists will mostly rely on the patient’s word that they have a condition that makes them eligible for a shot.
Beyond Virginia, CVS is requiring prescriptions for many patients in D.C. and the following states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Utah and West Virginia.
