Many states are moving to guarantee COVID-19 vaccine access for their residents amid new restrictions set by the Trump administration. But when people in these states try to schedule a vaccine appointment online, as they’ve done for years, they may be out of luck: the country’s four largest retail pharmacy chains — CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Kroger — are still discouraging and barring some people from booking these appointments online, even in states where it’s allowed, a Lever review found.
While it may be possible to ignore these online notices or walk into these pharmacies and request a COVID-19 shot, the companies’ messaging may be sowing confusion and lowering vaccination rates among the public.
This August, Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an outspoken vaccine critic, limited access to COVID-19 shots to people over age sixty-five, and those six months and older with increased risk of severe illness. The move reversed earlier federal guidance that allowed anyone six months or older to receive the vaccine.
Consequently both CVS and Walgreens, the country’s top two pharmacy chains, swiftly stopped offering COVID-19 vaccines for individuals without a doctor’s prescription in more than a dozen states.
Sixteen states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin — have since issued orders that allow individuals of any age and health status to get a COVID-19 shot.
Other states, including Delaware, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, have also passed orders expanding vaccine access, but only for certain individuals. In North Carolina and Virginia, for example, people aged eighteen to sixty-five can receive the shot without a prescription but only if they have an underlying health condition such as cancer or diabetes.
However, despite these orders, a…
Auteur: Helen Santoro
