The news: Retail pharmacy chains and some state health agencies are changing how they navigate the upcoming vaccination season amid federal health agency policy and personnel shifts.

Catch up quick: Public health agencies in President Trump’s second term are facing leadership upheaval over changes to vaccine policy set by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his team.

• After Trump fired CDC director Susan Monarez last week, at least four senior agency leaders, including the chief medical officer, resigned in solidarity.
• Monarez was approved by the Senate in late July, and quickly clashed with Kennedy on vaccine policy, per Reuters. She was fired after she wouldn't agree in advance to vaccine recommendations from Kennedy's new, handpicked review panel.
• Kennedy last week narrowed CDC recommendations of COVID-19 vaccines for the first time, limiting the updated fall shots to people ages 65+ or those with underlying health conditions.

Why it matters: Pharmacy chains and some states are consequently making important changes for the fall vaccination season.

• CVS and Walgreens will restrict COVID-19 vaccine access in more than a dozen states to only those with prescriptions and not to anyone in some states, per the New York Times.
• CVS won’t offer shots in Massachusetts, Nevada, and New Mexico, and will restrict them to prescriptions in 13 others. Walgreens is requiring prescriptions in 16 states, per NYT.
• On Friday, New Mexico issued an order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations despite Kennedy’s narrowed guidance, following CVS’ announcement that it could not offer the vaccines, per the Sante Fe New Mexican.
• More than 90% of US adults who received COVID-19 vaccines during the 2023-2024 season got them at pharmacies, per CDC August data.

Our take: Pharmacies have an opportunity to share information at the local level to ensure consumers are kept up-to-date on new vaccine rules in their state. They should create digital FAQs, be responsive to consumer questions on social media and in stores, and provide pharmacists with the latest information on vaccine access and restrictions through frequent one-on-one sessions. Not all consumers will be pleased with their pharmacy’s changes, but transparency and being a source of reliable information will help pharmacies build trust and loyalty in the confusing vaccine climate.

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