Confusion over COVID shots starts to ease in wake of Healey’s policy changes – The Boston Globe

On Thursday, Governor Maura Healey announced that updated COVID shots would be available to all state residents ages 6 months and older. She also made Massachusetts the first state in the country to require that insurers cover vaccinations recommended by the state rather than those recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services. The move came in response to actions by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to limit COVID vaccines to those 65 and older or with underlying conditions, despite evidence that healthy adults, young children, and pregnant women can also benefit from the shots. But it was taking time for the new rules to filter down to individual providers.

“In Massachusetts, we will not let Donald Trump or Robert Kennedy get in the way of patients and the care and the treatments and the medication that they want and need,” Healey said Thursday. “No one in the great state of Massachusetts is going to be denied because of cost.”

Minj Lo, a floating pharmacist at the Target CVS, said everyone coming in to ask about vaccines had been confused.

“Everything changes every day,” he said.

Target did not respond to the Globe’s request for comment.

Typically, a panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issues national guidance on COVID vaccines in June; insurers are mandated to cover the shots the panel recommends, and pharmacies and doctors’ offices place orders based on how many people the panel recommends should receive the shots. In addition, Massachusetts was one of 16 states, along with the District of Columbia, where local law required pharmacists to have clearance from the panel in order to administer vaccines. This year, the CDC has yet to issue any COVID vaccine guidance, which has sown confusion and delayed orders. Healey’s decision required pharmacies to break with the CDC panel and follow state guidance instead.

Amy Thibault, executive director of external affairs at CVS, said in a statement that the retailer is “adhering to the [state] order, and we are working to ensure that all of our Massachusetts pharmacy teams understand this.”

Vaccines were also beginning to arrive at area hospitals.

In a statement to the Globe Thursday, Mass General Brigham said, “The newly approved 2025–26 vaccine will be arriving to Mass General Brigham sites soon, and eligible patients will be able to access it through our practices as distribution continues. We also encourage eligible patients to get vaccinated at local pharmacies.”

Moderna, a biotech company based in Cambridge that developed one of the COVID vaccines, said in a statement to the Globe Monday that it was “business as usual” when it came to vaccine rollout and distribution. The Food and Drug Administration approved updated COVID shots last month for the elderly and those at high risk for complications.

“After our updated COVID-19 vaccines were approved on August 27, we began shipping orders to providers, with the first shipment arriving at a local CVS on the 29 [of August]. Our roll-out is going as planned, with vaccines already available at providers and pharmacies across the country,” said Kelly Cunningham, associate director of communications for Moderna, in the statement.

More people are now able to get or sign up for the vaccine without a problem.

Daniel O’Donnell, a sophomore at Northeastern University, signed up for his flu shot on the CVS app and was pleasantly surprised to be offered the vaccine when he arrived at the Massachusetts Avenue CVS Sunday morning.

“They were like, ‘Oh, do you also want to get your COVID vaccine?’ and I was like, ‘Can I?’” said O’Donnell, who has Type 1 diabetes, one of the conditions that can make COVID more severe.

At a CVS in the Seaport, Caroline Mur, 73, of Fort Point, was picking up medication and asking about a COVID vaccine — her second this year. She tries to get two annually, but admitted she was “a bit worried” when she heard reports in the news that insurance might no longer cover them. After Healey announced insurers and pharmacies would be required to keep vaccines available and covered, Mur decided it was the right time.

As she walked away from the counter with her appointment set, Mur did a little happy dance.

“I believe in vaccines,” she said.

Alexa Coultoff can be reached at alexa.coultoff@globe.com. Follow her @alexacoultoff. Katarina Schmeiszer can be reached at katarina.schmeiszer@globe.com. Follow her on X at @katschmeiszer. Sadaf Tokhi can be reached at sadaf.tokhi@globe.com.