They want a COVID shot to protect their health or at-risk family. They can’t get it

Jason Mitton wanted one of the new COVID-19 vaccines before leaving on a business trip. But the pharmacists at a drug store near his home in Austin, Texas, refused.

“He’s like: ‘Do you have a doctor’s note?’ I said: ‘No, I don’t.’ He said: ‘Well, the FDA standards say that you don’t qualify. And our policy is that we won’t administer it unless you qualify,'” says Mitton.

Mitton, who’s 55 and says he has high blood pressure and high cholesterol that’s controlled by medication, plans to keep trying to get vaccinated.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Mitton says. “I think it should be a person’s right to get the vaccine or not. So I’m very angry.”

Concerned about federal vaccine policies, states are crafting their own

As federal health agencies change their approach to vaccine policy leaving a