DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis has ordered state health officials to allow pharmacies and doctors to administer this year’s updated COVID-19 vaccine to people who want it without a prescription starting Friday in the wake of new federal guidelines that limited their use for millions across the U.S.
In a statement Wednesday, Polis announced he would be directing state health officials to issue public health and standing orders that expand access to the vaccine by removing “ridiculous and costly red tape” to ensure Coloradans who wish to get vaccinated against the virus can do so. Among the provisions, state health officials will make sure the COVID-19 vaccine is covered under all health insurance plans.
The announcement comes a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limited COVID-19 vaccines to seniors and those at higher risk of severe disease from the virus, while narrowing them for younger adults and children. The moved sowed chaos and confusion across pharmacies throughout the country, including here in Colorado.
Polis teased he would take action on expanding COVID-19 access over the weekend in a Reddit AMA post, saying his administration was "going to do everything we can to make sure that people can access the vaccine of their choice" without a prescription.
People who currently want to receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine in the state need a prescription from their doctor in order to get one. However, doctors may be hesitant to prescribe them “off label” after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warned physicians last month that straying from CDC recommendations on vaccines would not shield them from liability.
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“Colorado is committed to empowering individuals to make choices to protect their own health and safety, and I will not allow ridiculous and costly red tape or decisions made far away in Washington to keep Coloradans from accessing vaccines,” Polis said in a statement. “Starting this Friday, the COVID-19 vaccine should be available to those who choose at many local pharmacies.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said the narrow federal authorization “gets in the way of Coloradans making our own healthcare decisions and would have inconvenienced Coloradans who want increased COVID-19 protection by requiring a doctor’s prescription.”
The FDA’s limited approval, the spokesperson said, “has created 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.”
Currently, state law only allows health care providers to administer vaccines based on recommendations by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) to the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provisions put in place for school-required immunizations (which does not include the COVID-19 vaccine), however, do allow some flexibility for doctors and pharmacies to take into consideration recommendations from other leading medical groups apart from the CDC.
The law was written with those safeguards in mind after Colorado lawmakers and doctors on the frontlines saw what they described as “increasing political involvement” in medicine with the appointment of Kennedy as the nation’s top health official.
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But earlier this year, the HHS secretary — a prominent vaccine skeptic — replaced the entire CDC panel, naming several doctors and researchers who have repeatedly questioned the safety of commonly used vaccines and ingredients.
Statements made last week by Kennedy and another federal health official — both outspoken critics of wide-scale vaccinations — did not ease health experts' concerns.
In a social media post announcing the updated FDA criteria, Kennedy said the updated COVID-19 vaccines would be “available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors.”
That statement was followed hours later by another from FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who also took to social media to address concerns about the new limits placed on the shots, saying, “100% of adults in this country can still get the vaccine if they chose. We are not limiting availability to anyone.”
But federal data shows those statements are not aligned with the logistical hurdles many people will eventually encounter.
Numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics show that about 12% of U.S. adults under the age of 65 — or 27.2 million people — were uninsured last year.
Complicating things further is the fact that the CDC advisory panel in charge of making vaccine recommendations has yet to meet — a necessary step insurance companies rely on to base their vaccine coverage decisions each year. That could mean many would have had to pay out-of-pocket to get the vaccine.
While their efficacy against infection has waned since their initial rollout in the early days of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines do a good job preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, which remain a bigger risk for seniors, young children and people with underlying health risks.
In Colorado, more than 4,500 people have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 since Oct. 1, 2024, according to state health officials.
“This order ensures that Colorado takes every step possible to prevent hospitalizations, protect frontline health care workers, and preserve critical health care resources,” said Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan. “Equitable vaccine access is a cornerstone of protecting the public’s health.”
Colorado’s public health orders will remain in effect until Sept. 4, 2026, unless amended or rescinded, state officials said.
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