By Howard Fischer
Mail | X: @azcapmedia

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order late Thursday designed to ensure COVID vaccines remain available in Arizona to those who want — regardless of what new directives come out of the federal government.

But it won’t necessarily mean insurance companies will pay for them.

Her action allows the state Department of Health Service to issue a “standing order” that can serve as a prescription for the vaccine.

That comes after the Food and Drug Administration scrapped existing guidelines that had allowed virtually anyone to get the vaccine without a prescription. That meant individuals could walk into pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens and simply ask for the shot.

Now the federal guidance allows only those 65 and older to be immunized or tose younger who have at least one high-risk health condition.

Anyone else needs a prescription.

The governor’s order says what the health department will issue are blanket prescriptions for pharmacists and health care providers to administer the vaccine “in accordance with nationally recognized professional clinical guidance that ensures the broadest possible access.”

“We are taking action to protect the health care freedom of Arizonans,” the governor said in a prepared statement.

“Vaccines are critical tools that safeguard public health and prevent serious illness,” she continued. “Arizonans and their doctors deserve the freedom to access the COVID vaccine if it is right for them.”

Hobbs said with her order, “we are following the science and ensuring that Arizonans have access to vaccines to keep themselves and their families safe.”

Hobbs is making it clear that she believes the changes in federal guidance about who can and cannot get vaccinated, started after vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the secretary of Health and Human Services, are not scientifically sound.

“This limited approval is in conflict with both scientific, peer-reviewed evidence and the evidence-based recommendations of trusted health care professional organizations,” she wrote in her executive order. She also called to “contrary to recent prior federal recommendations” that had advised COVID vaccination for the broader public.

“All available scientific, trusted, and peer-reviewed evidence indicates that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and are the most effective way of preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death,” she wrote.

In the press release, the governor’s office specifically said the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends COVID vaccines for people 18 and younger. The release also cites the recommendation of the American Academy of Family Physicians which recommends that adults 18 and older get vaccinated.

Then there’s the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that believes that pregnant women should be inoculated.

The order could result in a change in availability at some pharmacies.
CVS had previously announced it will offer the vaccine only in certain states based on what the chain says is required. Arizona is currently not one of them.

That still leaves the question of cost. The new federal guidelines say for most people the vaccines are no longer recommended. And insurance companies generally do not cover vaccines not considered medically necessary.

Some states like Connecticut have laws and regulations that require insurance policies to cover such vaccinations, regardless of the actions of the FDA or the Centers for Disease Control.

Gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater said Hobbs is issuing no such directive.

Instead, she is telling the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions to “coordinate with and encourage all health plans under its regulatory authority to continue to cover COVID-19 vaccines.”

The state health department reports that unvaccinated individuals age 5 and older were seven times more likely to need to be hospitalized than those who were vaccinated with an updated booster. And their risk of dying was 8.8 times as much

Other states have made moves similar to what Hobbs is doing.

The California Department of Public Health said Wednesday it is endorsing the recommendations of the same organizations Hobbs is now citing. That includes specific recommendations to vaccinate children 6 month to 2 years old, as well as people who are pregnant and lactating.