Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday signed an executive order that will allow pharmacists to administer COVID vaccines, providing access for all New Yorkers who wish to be vaccinated.
The executive order will be in place for at least 30 days while a long-term legislative solution is developed to address access to all vaccines after the Food and Drug Administration limited approval for the shots to adults 65 and older or those who are "high risk" for severe disease. The changes were announced on X on Aug. 27 by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The executive order allows physicians and nurse practitioners to issue patient-specific or non-patient-specific orders to pharmacists for patients as young as age three, expands pharmacists’ authority to administer vaccines to children under 18, and, for the first time, permits pharmacists to prescribe COVID vaccines themselves.
“I promised New Yorkers that their family would be my fight. In the absence of federal leadership, we must do everything we can to ensure that New Yorkers have access to the vaccines and preventative healthcare they have come to rely on,” Hochul said in a statement. “By signing this executive order, we are sending a clear message that when Washington Republicans play politics with public health, New Yorkers can still get the care they need, close to home, from trusted providers in their own communities.”
Most pharmacies in New York rely on “standing orders” — non-patient-specific prescriptions that give them authority to administer vaccines to broad groups of people. These standing orders are typically based on recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Just this summer, the federal government pulled more than $500 million in mRNA vaccine funding, creating further uncertainty around access.
In June, Kennedy replaced a majority of ACIP members with individuals known to oppose vaccination. Since then, ACIP has not issued updated guidance for the 2025-26 COVID vaccine and is not scheduled to meet until September 18.
Without that federal guidance, many pharmacies in New York began restricting access to the COVID vaccine, particularly for children ages 3–17, pregnant people and adults under age 65 without underlying conditions.
Vaccines save lives and New Yorkers should have access to the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of respiratory virus season, said Dr. Michelle Morse, Acting Commissioner of the New York City Health Department.
"No new data has been presented that raises any concerns about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine – especially for those who may need it the most," she said. "Restricting vaccines and taking away New Yorkers’ ability to protect their health is deadly."
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