{"id":199072,"date":"2025-09-04T08:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T08:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199072\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T08:22:09","slug":"amid-federal-vaccine-uncertainty-colorado-takes-steps-to-ensure-access-to-covid-19-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199072\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid federal vaccine uncertainty, Colorado takes steps to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated at 5:32 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. <\/strong><\/p>\n

With the nation\u2019s leading health agency in chaos, federal vaccine guidance facing unprecedented uncertainty and many ordinary people wondering about COVID-19 vaccine availability this fall, Colorado’s governor and health officials took extraordinary steps Wednesday to make sure residents can easily get them.<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, asked the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and other state agencies to make sure all Coloradans have access to updated COVID-19 vaccines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The health department\u2019s Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan issued a public health order<\/a> to take several steps to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, saying it was necessary \u201cto reduce confusion and uncertainty, and to enhance the protection of public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Ned Calonge, the state\u2019s chief medical officer, also issued a standing order<\/a> to let pharmacists provide COVID-19 vaccines without individual prescriptions. It takes effect on Friday, Sept. 5.<\/p>\n

In a press release, the governor said he was taking action so Coloradans who want to get the \u201csafe and effective updated COVID vaccine,\u201d along with the flu vaccine, were able to this fall without first having to visit a doctor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese effective vaccines are available at many local pharmacies and supermarkets, and I encourage my fellow Coloradans to join me in getting protected,\u201d said Polis, in the release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the state is committed to empowering individuals to make choices to protect their own health and safety. \u201cI will not allow ridiculous and costly red tape or decisions made far away in Washington to keep Coloradans from accessing vaccines,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Polis, a frequent poster on social media, took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to get the word out. An image of the governor next to one of mega-pop star Taylor Swift stated he and the state health department \u201ctake swift action\u201d to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for Coloradans. It was posted on his official account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ryan noted that since Oct. 1 of last year, more than 4,500 Coloradans have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. In the first three years of the pandemic, the virus claimed 15,000 lives<\/a>, making it a loss of historic proportions, with a higher death toll than anything that had happened in the state in a century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis order ensures that Colorado takes every step possible to prevent hospitalizations, protect frontline health care workers, and preserve critical health care resources,\u201d Ryan said in the release. \u201cEquitable vaccine access is a cornerstone of protecting the public\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moves come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration limited recent approval of updated 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccines to those aged 65 and older or at higher risk of severe disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The press release from the state health department said the evolving federal vaccine policy has \u201ccreated confusion and uncertainty because it appears to conflict with recommendations previously issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the guidance issued by several professional organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CDC, under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines, has faced intense upheaval<\/a> in recent weeks and days, with its director being forced out and an acting director being named, leaders of the agency resigning in protest and nine former leaders warning<\/a> the public health system is a \u201craging fire\u201d and seeing a massive brain drain under RFK.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, just a few months into his tenure, Kennedy fired everyone<\/a> on the federal vaccine advisory panel that makes policy and recommendations for the CDC. He also lifted recommendations<\/a> for pregnant women and healthy children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI applaud Gov. Polis and CDPHE for acting quickly to help ensure Coloradans can easily access updated COVID-19 vaccines this fall. Clear, convenient access is essential,” said Dr. David Higgins<\/a>, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He was part of a stakeholder group that helped craft a new law<\/a> passed in the last legislative session to give the state\u2019s board of health additional flexibility when making vaccine recommendations.<\/p>\n

He said vaccines have a proven safety record and \u201cremain one of our most essential tools\u201d to prevent severe illness and protect vulnerable Coloradans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis action safeguards Coloradans\u2019 freedom to make their own choices about protecting their health and the health of their families,\u201d Higgins said.<\/p>\n

The key national panel, which typically makes vaccine recommendations, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), usually publishes recommendations guiding CDC policy, availability of federally-funded vaccines, and insurance coverage.<\/p>\n

But it has not issued updated guidance this year, according to the CDPHE release, which called that a \u201cfailure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without state action, many Coloradans would have needed to get a doctor\u2019s prescription in order to get a COVID vaccine at a pharmacy. The public health order and standing order will allow Coloradans to get the vaccine \u201cwithout seeking an individual prescription from their doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether health insurance plans will cover coronavirus vaccines remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a health plan perspective, nothing has changed on the coverage side. COVID-19 vaccinations remain a covered preventive service,\u201d said Kevin McFatridge, the executive director of Colorado Association of Health Plans, which represents insurers. \u201cWhat\u2019s playing out right now is a distribution issue tied to the interplay between FDA authorization, ACIP guidance, and the state\u2019s public health order.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

CVS and Walgreens said last week<\/a> that their Colorado locations would only provide COVID-19 vaccines to people who had a prescription, according to The Denver Post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similar to many states, Colorado\u2019s current board of pharmacy regulations link pharmacists\u2019 authorization to administer vaccines to the ACIP guidelines. So the new guidance from the FDA and inaction from ACIP directly have an impact on vaccine access in the state in pharmacies, where a lot of people get their shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actions today allow Coloradans with state-regulated health plans to get the vaccine without a doctor\u2019s visit or prescription,\u201d the state posted on a page with frequently asked questions. \u201cColoradans with private federally regulated plans can also use the standing order to get the Vaccine, although they should check with their benefits plan to ensure coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis state-level guidance is a welcome relief for all of us working for the health of the public here in Colorado,\u201d said Dr. Tamaan K. Osbourne-Roberts, a practicing family physician in Aurora who serves a diverse patient population.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is particularly welcome news for clinical workers, many of whom would have been denied adequate access to the protection of COVID-19 vaccination despite a high risk of occupational exposure,\u201d he said via email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDenver Health believes strongly in the importance of vaccines in preventing disease and will follow the current COVID-19 vaccine guidelines for those over 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions,\u201d said a spokesman for Denver Health, the state\u2019s flagship safety net hospital, via email. \u201cWe also are working closely with our colleagues in health to assess how to expand vaccine access to all who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n

CPR reached out to the press offices for legislative Republicans but did not receive a response by deadline.<\/p>\n

The Colorado State Board of Pharmacy will hold an emergency rulemaking hearing at 9 a.m. on Friday, according to the release. It aims to make sure pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians can continue to prescribe, dispense and administer vaccinations, following applicable Colorado Revised Statutes. Meeting details will be posted to the State Board of Pharmacy\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the release, the public health order also directs CDPHE to:<\/p>\n