Hochul signs executive order allowing pharmacies to give COVID shots without doctors' prescriptions

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday allowing pharmacists to administer COVID-19 immunizations without a doctor's prescription.

Hochul signed the order, which allows pharmacists to provide the vaccine to anyone 3 or older, during a news conference at Manorhaven Elementary School in Port Washington, after she met with schoolchildren over breakfast to discuss the state’s new universal free meals in schools program.

The order declaring a "disaster emergency" is only valid through Oct. 5, but the governor said it can be renewed every 30 days until the State Legislature meets in January, when it can "pass legislation that mandates this."

"We're going to continue developing a long-term plan to fight these reckless decisions coming out of Washington, because I have no choice," Hochul said.

Other Democratic-run states, such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Colorado, have issued similar authorizations to pharmacies amid what Hochul and fellow Democratic governors said is a politicization of the Department of Health and Human Services under its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic. New York is part of a consortium of eight Northeast states developing "evidence-based recommendations" on vaccines and other public-health measures.

Danny Dang, chairman of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York, said the executive order was necessary because of widespread confusion among pharmacists over who if anyone they could currently vaccinate, and over what steps a patient needed to take to obtain a vaccine. The order also removes pharmacists' fear of legal liability if they administered a vaccine to someone who is not on the federal government's new, more limited eligibility list, he said.

The Food and Drug Administration last month approved updated COVID-19 vaccines but only for Americans 65 and older, and younger adults and children with health conditions that put them at higher risk for severe COVID-19. Previously, the federal government recommended the vaccine for anyone at least 6 months old.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson criticized the executive order.

"New York’s declaration of a ‘disaster emergency’ over federal vaccine policy is misguided and ill-conceived," the spokesperson said in an email. "HHS is not limiting access — the COVID-19 vaccine remains available to anyone who chooses it in consultation with their health care provider. We are restoring the doctor-patient relationship and delivering transparency to the American people — exactly what they voted for."

The statement echoed what Kennedy said during Senate testimony Thursday, when he said "everybody can get" the COVID-19 vaccine.

Senators at the hearing, and independent analysts, said that was misleading, because of the obstacles that Americans faced in getting the shot. In addition, many people currently must pay out of pocket for the vaccine — nearly $200 in a pharmacy, Dang said — while in the past, federal law required that the vaccines be available for free for most Americans with insurance.

Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health, said states like New York are right to chart their own course on vaccines, because they can no longer trust federal health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its vaccine advisory committee.

"The CDC has been replaced by people who are not making evidence-based decisions," he said. "They're making arbitrary decisions that are preventing people who want vaccines from getting them."

Farber said he doesn't think most healthy young adults need the vaccine, but, he said, "they should have the option."

COVID-19 is far less deadly than in the past. But it can still cause severe disease, especially in people with certain medical conditions, such as excessive weight, diabetes, cancer and heart and lung conditions.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have been rising steadily over the past two months, although numbers are much lower than during previous summers. Daily hospitalizations on Long Island were between 25 and 35 during the first half of July, but had risen to 72 by Thursday, state Health Department data shows. Statewide, there were 416 people with COVID-19 in the hospital. About half were admitted for other reasons and later tested positive for the virus.

"Many friends and family I know are suffering from it right now," Hochul said. "This is the time of year when you’d normally be getting your COVID shot. ... I plan on getting mine very shortly."

Hochul said state officials will "make sure" that the cost of the shots will be covered by private insurance companies and the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents. The governor's office did not respond to questions as to whether the state would issue a directive requiring coverage with no copays to policyholders, as Massachusetts did on Wednesday.

The New York Health Plan Association, which represents insurers, said in an email Friday that it would not take a position on such a directive until it sees the wording. Massachusetts' main insurers group supported that state's directive.