Massachusetts Governor Healey Authorizes Expanded COVID-19 booster Access Amidst Federal Concerns
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has issued a standing order to ensure continued access to updated COVID-19 boosters for all residents aged 5 and older, bypassing a standard requirement for state pharmacy board approval. This move comes amid growing concerns regarding the direction of federal vaccine policy under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Wiht Robert Kennedy and the federal government, we are going to make sure vaccines remain available in Massachusetts,” Healey stated in a prepared release. “We are working to ensure that all pharmacies make the vaccine available quickly.”
Currently, Massachusetts law typically requires sign-off from the Board of Registration in Pharmacy before vaccines can be administered by pharmacies. Healey’s order circumvents this process, prompting CVS to await direction from the board before implementing the expanded access.
The boosters to be distributed include Moderna’s mnexspike and spikevax, Pfizer’s comirnaty, and Novovax’s nuvaxovid.
Healey’s action is directly linked to concerns about Kennedy’s past statements expressing mistrust of vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines credited by public health experts with saving millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since his appointment, Kennedy reportedly blocked $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development and replaced members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel with individuals sharing his anti-vaccine views, according to some health observers.Under Kennedy’s leadership, the CDC recently altered its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, limiting eligibility to individuals 65 and older and those with underlying medical conditions – a change from the previous recommendation of vaccination for anyone over 6 months of age. Many health experts have voiced concerns that this revised guidance poses a significant risk to public health.
In response to these federal changes, Healey is also exploring a regional collaboration with Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and New York to establish a system of self-reliant vaccine guidance.”Massachusetts has the best health care in the world. We won’t let Donald Trump and Robert kennedy get in between patients and their doctors and prevent people from getting the vaccines they want and need,” Healey declared. “We are taking action to ensure vaccines remain available here in Massachusetts while also working with other East Coast states to be able to step in to preserve access to vaccines any time the CDC fails to do its job to protect public health.”
The U.S. Health and Human services did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding healey’s decision.
