States and Retailers Expand COVID Vaccine Access

Major retailers in Florida — including CVS, Walgreens and Publix — have begun offering the updated COVID-19 vaccines after the Florida Board of Pharmacy clarified on Sept. 23 that pharmacists, interns and technicians may administer FDA‑approved COVID-19 shots under a physician protocol without individual prescriptions. The change follows the FDA narrowing some vaccine authorizations and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issuing more restrictive guidance that emphasized boosters for people 65+ and certain high‑risk groups, which prompted confusion about eligibility and who may provide doses. In response, several jurisdictions acted to preserve access: the D.C. Council and Mayor passed a law allowing residents to receive COVID vaccines without prescriptions, Hawaii’s governor issued an emergency proclamation authorizing pharmacists to vaccinate people age 3+, and states including Minnesota and Illinois have directed clinicians to follow major medical societies’ recommendations or adopted broader vaccine guidance. These state and local measures aim to keep vaccines available, particularly for seniors and high‑risk patients, even as federal advisory recommendations evolve. The result is a fragmented national picture in which vaccine access increasingly depends on state and local policies rather than a single federal standard.