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2d ago

West Coast States Issue Their Own Vaccine Guidelines as California Enacts Coverage Law

The measures aim to preserve access after federal approvals were narrowed and CDC leadership and its advisory panel were overhauled.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo
A health care administer gives the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to a person at the L.A. Care Health Plan free testing and vaccination site at the First African Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
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Overview

  • California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii released joint winter guidance recommending broader eligibility for COVID-19, flu and RSV shots than recent federal actions.
  • The alliance urges COVID-19 vaccination for children 6–23 months, pregnant and postpartum people, adults 65+, younger adults with risk factors and those who have not previously been vaccinated, with access for others who choose protection.
  • Flu shots are recommended for everyone 6 months and older, and RSV protection is advised for infants, certain toddlers with risk factors, pregnant people at 32–36 weeks, adults 75+ and ages 50–74 with risk factors.
  • California’s new law empowers the state to set immunization schedules based on established medical organizations and requires state‑regulated insurers to cover state‑endorsed vaccines, with plans given up to 15 days to comply; it also expands pharmacist authority to vaccinate under state guidance.
  • The state actions follow HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of CDC vaccine policymaking, as former CDC director Susan Monarez warned in Senate testimony of restricted access, and a reconstituted ACIP meets this week, leaving coverage for some federally regulated plans uncertain.