Amid uncertainty about the future of Covid vaccine guidance from the federal government, Gov. Hochul last Friday signed an executive order to expand its access.

Most pharmacies in the state rely on “standing orders” — non-patient-specific prescriptions that give them authority to administer vaccines to broad groups of people, based on recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The ACIP, under the leadership of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has not issued updated guidance for the 2025-26 Covid vaccine and is not scheduled to meet until Sept. 18, Hochul’s office said.

According to recent reports, many pharmacies in the state, including CVS and Walgreens, are only administering Covid-19 vaccines with a prescription from

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