Fewer Mainers will likely be able to get COVID-19 vaccines this fall due to recent changes by the federal government to restrict which groups are eligible for them.
When the pandemic was at its height in 2020 and 2021, many rushed to obtain the shots, available universally under emergency federal approval.
But under the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services, not just anyone can get vaccinated anymore. Preliminary new guidelines mostly restrict the vaccines to those over 65 or people with at least one separate health condition that puts them at high risk.
The new restrictions have caused some concern that people who don't meet the age or disease criteria won't be able to get the shots as easily, perhaps requiring them to get a prescription and pay for them out of pocket. Without insurance, a COVID vaccine can cost as much as $142 for an adult, according to the CDC.
The rule changes have also left many Mainers confused, coming just as pharmacies are stocking up on the latest versions of the shots and providers are promoting annual vaccines ahead of winter.
"I think confusion is everywhere right now with patients, with prescribers and even with pharmacy staff," said Amelia Arnold, vice president of Augusta-based Community Pharmacies, which has locations across eastern and southern Maine. "It's settled down a little since last week because we've had a few days to kind of let the dust settle."
In essence, the federal government has changed the criteria for who can receive the immunization, said Mary Allen, family nurse practitioner and infection preventionist at Cary Medical Center in Caribou.
Though the guidelines for the 2025-26 season haven't been officially published yet, the latest information indicates COVID vaccines will be reserved for older and high-risk patients rather than the general public, Allen said.
In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services removed COVID-19 vaccines from the list of immunizations recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.
And the emergency-use authorizations once used to make the injections available to the general public have been rescinded, DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Aug. 27 on X.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved vaccines for people 65 and older and those who are at higher risk "after consulting with their doctors," he said.
Among the health conditions that could lead to a higher risk for COVID infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control lists cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, HIV, blood disorders, immune system ailments, chronic diseases, pregnancy and tuberculosis.
That means the vaccines that were once freely given at health fairs, providers' offices and pharmacies won't be as readily available -- at this point, anyway.
"It's likely to be more difficult for people to receive a COVID vaccine than in the past, based on indications," Allen said.
Still, health experts continue to recommend both flu and COVID vaccines to reduce severe illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths, according to the University of Colorado's UCHealth. Current vaccinations cover the most recent strains of disease.
But patients who don't meet the federal criteria may have to pay out of pocket for them. And in Maine, you may need a prescription to get one. CVS and Walgreens pharmacies are requiring doctors' prescriptions in order for people to receive a COVID shot, CBS News reported Aug. 29.
CVS has 26 locations in Maine, located in Bangor and south, while Walgreens operates 67 sites statewide, including five in Aroostook County.
Though the federal government usually issues guidelines for the coming immunization season at a summer meeting, that meeting is now scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19, Arnold said.
"Why it's especially important in Maine is a pharmacist's authority to distribute vaccines without a prescription depends on [those recommendations]," she said. "It doesn't mean you can't get a COVID shot at a pharmacy in Maine, but right now you do need a prescription."
Arnold believes those who really need the immunization will be able to receive it. The landscape of accessibility across the state is likely to change, she said. Right now, it's a matter of letting providers and corporations catch up with the laws.
People should be patient, because pharmacies are just now receiving shipments of both flu and COVID vaccine, she said.
Allen argued that vaccine rates across the country are less than ideal, and she urged people to do their own research and use trusted sources for medical information, rather than depending on social media and unreliable stories circulating on the internet.
"I understand the mistrust and it shouldn't be discounted, but the message at the end of the day is to look at science and look at the facts," Allen said. "With COVID vaccines, we see fewer hospitalizations, fewer people on ventilators and fewer emergency department visits."
Because the final versions of the new federal COVID guidelines haven't yet been published, Cary Medical Center hasn't formulated a plan for distributing those vaccines yet.
Flu shots, on the other hand, are a certainty, and the hospital is already planning its annual clinics and health fair, Communications and Marketing Director Tim Goff said.