STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We're finding out how the new federal restrictions on the COVID vaccine are playing out in the real world. President Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., narrowed who is eligible. And that is causing confusion, to say the least. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein spoke with people who've been getting turned away at the pharmacy. Hey there, Rob.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So the basic idea is that anybody who wants a COVID vaccine cannot necessarily just walk into a pharmacy and get one, which was true in the past. How's this playing out?
STEIN: You know, Steve, it's a mixed bag. The vaccines are only approved for people most likely to get really sick from COVID because they're at least 65 years old or have some other health issue that makes COVID particularly dangerous. Some people are still able to get vaccinated, no problem, because they're still eligible or do what's called self-attestation - just tell the pharmacist, yeah, I'm eligible. But the rules for how this work vary from state to state, so a lot of people are having a hard time getting vaccinated.
INSKEEP: And there are a lot of people who are trying because they've heard about the changing rules and they want to get in under the wire, get the shot done. What are you hearing from people trying to get a shot?
STEIN: Yeah. Yeah. For example, I talked about this yesterday with Jason Mitton (ph). He's 55, lives in Austin, doesn't want the misery of getting COVID again, missing work. So he tried to get vaccinated last Friday before heading off on a business trip. But the pharmacist refused, even though Mitton is getting treated for high blood pressure.
JASON MITTON: And he's like, well, do you have a doctor's note? And 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. I think it's ridiculous, honestly. I think it should be a person's right to choose to get the vaccine or not. Right now it feels like the right to get the vaccine is being prevented, so I am - I'm very angry about that. To me, it's ridiculous. I - yeah. I'm angry about it.
STEIN: You know, Steve, I'm hearing lots of stories like this. Some people get turned away because they don't meet the new criteria. Some get told they can only get a shot if they come back with a prescription. Some still get rejected even when they go back with a doctor's order.
INSKEEP: Wow.
STEIN: I mean, yeah. I've heard about people going from pharmacy to pharmacy, doctor to doctor, even sometimes state to state, hunting for a shot. And many times, they just don't want the vaccine to protect themselves.
INSKEEP: Oh, meaning that they want they want it to protect other people, as well. It's - that's what you're saying, right?
STEIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Many people want their whole family to get protected, even if they're healthy. They don't want to catch the virus and then spread it to, say, you know, Grandma or Grandpa or some very young kids in the family, someone whose immune system is weak because maybe they have cancer. Allison Coach (ph), 32, healthy, lives in Bristol, 黑料新闻. She's worried about her dad, who's in heart failure, other family who have diabetes, one who recently got a kidney transplant, not to mention her 16-month-old son.
INSKEEP: Wow.
STEIN: COVID can be quite dangerous for babies.
ALLISON COACH: I'm very angry. I'm frustrated. I'm sad. I'm - you know, it's just really upsetting. Why do I have to jump through hoops to do this? Yeah. It's kind of scary, you know?
STEIN: So she's thinking about doing what some other people are doing - just saying she's eligible. But she has no idea how she'll get a shot for her baby, who isn't on the list under the new rules either.
INSKEEP: Can anything improve the situation here?
STEIN: Well, everyone's on the edge of their seat, waiting for a big CDC meeting next week. CDC advisers go beyond the FDA and issue recommendations, specific recommendations for who should get a shot. That could clear out some of the roadblocks, let pharmacists in more states give the shots, make the shots available for free to eligible kids through a big federal program. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the original members of this committee and replaced them with his own, many of whom share his antivaccine views, so no one's sure exactly what they're going to do.
INSKEEP: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Thanks for the information, Rob.
STEIN: You bet, Steve.
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