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Virginia health commissioner issues standing order to expand COVID vaccine access for older adults
Summary
The state health commissioner said a standing order will allow adults 65 and older and adults 18–64 with qualifying medical conditions to receive the 2025–26 COVID vaccine at participating pharmacies without an individual prescription while ACIP guidance is finalized.
RICHMOND — Virginia’s state health commissioner said a standing order will be issued to clarify pharmacy protocols for the 2025–26 COVID‑19 vaccine and expand access for adults at higher risk while federal advisory guidance is finalized.
Dr. Karen Shelton, Virginia’s state health commissioner, told the joint subcommittee that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the updated 2025–26 COVID vaccine but the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not yet issued their finalized seasonal schedule at the time of the briefing. Because about 70% of Virginians receive vaccinations at pharmacies, Shelton said some pharmacies were waiting for ACIP/CDC guidance before administering the new vaccine.
What the standing order does: Shelton said the department will issue a standing order — limited to FDA recommendations and adults — that will allow pharmacies to administer the updated COVID vaccination to people 65 and older and to adults 18–64 with qualifying medical conditions under the commissioner’s authorization, without requiring an individual prescription. She said the department planned to publish a press release and the standing order the next day so pharmacies and the public would know the protocol.
Clarifications from the Board of Pharmacy: Caroline Jeran, executive director of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, added that obtaining a prescription remains an acceptable path and that some pharmacies may also use an alternative standing‑order approval route through the Board of Nursing; she said chain pharmacies were using different approaches before the commissioner’s order.
Flu vaccine: Shelton said the seasonal influenza vaccine protocol had been conferred in June and remained available at pharmacies per standard practice.
Ending: The commissioner said the standing order would reduce access variability across pharmacies and that additional guidance would be published by the department.
