Covid shots are about to be widely available again

COVID-19 vaccines exist It’s about to become widely available again across the US, after several weeks of confusion over who will be able to get it this fall. Uncertainty about federalism Serum The policy caused a temporary patchwork of access across the country, with shots being offered in some places but not others.

this week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Issued New directives About use Coronavirus disease Vaccines, dropping a broad recommendation for vaccination and instead leaving the choice to individuals. Although it represents a change in official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention policy, the guidance allows doses to be released at pharmacies and also allows states to offer them again to people of all ages.

Before this fall, the CDC globally recommended the COVID vaccine for anyone 6 months or older. The agency’s new guidance, drafted by a panel of experts selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says individuals should consult with a health care provider before getting the vaccine, what the agency calls “individualized decision making.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of providers includes doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

“Informed consent is back,” Jim O’Neill, acting director of the CDC and deputy secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), said at a news conference. October 6 statement. “The CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for permanent COVID-19 boosters prohibits health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination to a patient or parent. That is changing today.”

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, first moved to restrict Covid vaccinations in May, when Announce The CDC no longer recommends it for healthy children and pregnant women.

The confusion escalated in August, when the Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines but only for adults 65 and older, and for younger people with medical conditions that put them at risk. High risk of serious diseases. Previously, COVID shots were indicated for anyone 6 months and older. Because different state laws define pharmacists’ scope of practice, this change prompted pharmacies in some states to require a prescription, while pharmacies in other states stopped offering injections entirely. However, several countries took quick action to restore access.