Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a gathering of business leaders and public officials at the Moda Center, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. She is currently weighing a plan enacted by Washington officials enacted to ensure access to the COVID-19 vaccine despite tightening federal restrictions.(Photo by Michael Romanos/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Health Authority are exploring similar measures to a standing order issued in Washington aimed at ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccination in the face of federal guidelines that have tightened access to the shot and spurred confusion for patients across the state.
The announcement comes two days after the democratic governors of Washington, California and Oregon announced what they called a West Coast Health Alliance aimed at safeguarding access to vaccines in the wake of political turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in June removed all members of the centers’ key Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a move medical expert groups widely denounced as undermining transparency in the institution.
The Food & Drug Administration in late August tightened annual restrictions to access to the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, which previously made the shot available to anyone 6 months or older regardless of health status. The new restrictions limit access to people 65 and older or younger people with at least one underlying health condition that would risk severe illness.
Health authority spokesperson Jonathan Modie told the Capital Chronicle that Kotek and the agency are working to “review existing statutes and rules to determine next steps needed to support continued access to vaccines throughout the state, including at pharmacies.”
“Each state may have different processes and timelines for implementation based on the recommendation and legal authorities,” he said. “Standing orders are one mechanism being considered. Oregonians can talk to their provider or pharmacy about getting a 2025-2026 vaccine.”
The review follows action from several other several Democratic states, who swiftly responded by loosening restrictions to ensure access to the COVID vaccine, heightening pressure for Oregon officials to follow suit. The Washington Department of Health signed a standing order into effect on Thursday allowing anyone in the state 6 months or older to receive the vaccine without a prescription through pharmacists or nurses, for instance. Hawaii also joined the western state coalition on Thursday.
The Oregon Board of Pharmacy told the Capital Chronicle that more clarity around vaccine access may be forthcoming after the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets from Sept. 18-19. It said that the new guidelines from the federal government are “more narrow” and stressed that pharmacies will require prescriptions or offer the vaccine at sites with clinical agreements or collaborative drug therapy programs.
“The Oregon Board of Pharmacy serves to promote and protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring high standards in the practice of pharmacy,” agency staff wrote in an unsigned statement. “We are deeply concerned by delayed federal guidance, which has caused confusion and created barriers to accessing updated COVID-19 vaccines at the start of respiratory season.”
In a statement, Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS Pharmacies, said the company is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon.
“While individual pharmacies may cancel appointments from time to time, the vaccine is still currently available at our pharmacies in the state,” she said in a statement.
Debbie Karman, a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente, told the Capital Chronicle that its experts were still reviewing the FDA’s guidance. She added that they would also review the CDC’s guidance when it was released alongside “other sources of clinical recommendations, including relevant medical societies, to ensure safe and effective administration of the COVID vaccine.”
“Vaccination continues to be one of the safest and most effective ways to protect against illness and reduce the severity of illness from COVID,” she said in an emailed statement. “Kaiser Permanente is committed to making the 2025-26 COVID vaccine available at no cost to children and adults for protection from severe illness from COVID.”
Lawmakers could also act to preserve access to vaccines. Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland and chair of the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care, told the Capital Chronicle he was looking into the issue.
“These are excellent questions and appropriate concerns,” he wrote in a Friday statement. “These changes are all happening in real time and I am actively investigating as we speak.”
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