CVS said Friday that it would only administer COVID-19 vaccines to people in Maine with prescriptions from their doctors.

The announcement about the availability of the vaccine at the nation’s largest pharmacy chain comes on the heels of new restrictions from the federal Food and Drug Administration on who is eligible to receive the shot.

Boxes for the updated COVID-19 vaccine, shown earlier this month. (Pfizer via AP)

The FDA on Wednesday gave the OK for coronavirus vaccines only for people who are considered to be at high risk — those over 65 and people with existing health problems, according to federal guidelines. That narrows the approval for shots that had previously been routinely provided to nearly all Americans, much like annual flu shots administered at pharmacies and pop-up clinics.

Hannaford, which has pharmacies inside most of its grocery stores, will follow those guidelines. While the stores are not currently allowing patients to schedule appointments to receive the vaccine, spokesperson Caitlin Coutelyou said the new vaccine is expected to be available at Hannaford pharmacies beginning next week.

“At this time, customers in Maine are required to have a prescription from their medical provider to receive the vaccine,” she said in an email.

The new restrictions break with previous U.S. policy, which recommended annual COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans older than 6 months.

People under 65 who are otherwise healthy now must consult their doctor to be approved for the shot. The FDA also narrowed vaccine approval for younger adults and children to those with at least one high-risk health condition, such as obesity or asthma. Pfizer’s authorization for any child under 5 was revoked.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine critic who has falsely linked them to autism, said in a post on X that the FDA limited approvals of the new vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax for those at “higher risk.”

“These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors,” he said.

The move comes as COVID activity has increased this summer nationwide, with waning immunity from earlier vaccinations and previous infections cited as one factor.

It’s still not clear whether insurance will cover the vaccine and how easily people will be able to get it at local pharmacies. Without insurance, the vaccine could cost around $200, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention did not respond Friday afternoon to questions about the new restrictions and the availability of the vaccine in Maine.

INCREASED RISKS 

Dr. Nirav Shah, the former Maine CDC director, who stepped down from the No. 2 spot at the federal CDC in February and has returned to Maine to teach at Colby College, said in an interview Friday that the new restrictions on the COVID-19 vaccine are “the opposite of public health.”

“This is a situation where, I suspect, rather than just removing the vaccine wholesale from the market, they are going to engage in death by a thousand cuts,” he said.

Shah said he has no doubt the vaccine will be harder and more expensive for people to get, especially because a prescription is not always easy to obtain. Many people don’t have a primary care provider or may not be able to take time off from work for doctor’s appointments. They may also not be able to afford the visit, he said.

“The bottom line is vaccines will be harder to find. If they are harder to find, they will be more expensive,” Shah said. “That will mean fewer people will be vaccinated and this could be a particularly bad season for vulnerable individuals.”

The Maine CDC reports the state has seen 5,856 COVID-19 cases so far this year as of Aug. 26. There have been 68 deaths and 416 hospitalizations since the beginning of the year, according to the state CDC’s COVID-19 dashboard. During the week that began Aug. 17, the CDC reviewed 104 cases, a slight drop from the 115 during the previous week. As of Aug. 19, 15 people in Maine were hospitalized with COVID.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America on Wednesday said the FDA’s decision “completely contradicts the evidence base, severely undermines trust in science-driven policy and dangerously limits vaccine access, removing millions of Americans’ choice to be protected and increasing the risk of severe outcomes from COVID.”

The U.S. CDC, which also falls under Kennedy’s purview, earlier this year began requiring parents of healthy children to talk with a health care provider before getting the COVID vaccine for youngsters.

The CDC had also previously urged pregnant women to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, but changed its messaging earlier this year to say it would offer no guidance on whether healthy pregnant women should get the vaccine. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that people receive updated COVID-19 vaccines at any point during pregnancy.

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Amy Thibault, a CVS spokesperson, said the updated vaccines are expected to arrive at CVS pharmacies in the coming days. The company has 26 locations across Maine.

“We’ll administer FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in states where legally permitted at CVS Pharmacy and/or MinuteClinic to meet our patients’ needs,” Thibault said in a statement.

Maine is among 14 states where CVS will require a prescription. The company is not offering COVID-19 vaccines in Massachusetts, Nevada and New Mexico, Thibault said.

Walgreens is currently not allowing people to book appointments for COVID-19 vaccines.

“COVID-19 vaccination appointments are currently unavailable pending approval of updated vaccines for 2025-2026. Once the new vaccines are approved, appointments will be available again,” a message on the pharmacy chain’s website said Friday.

A Walgreens spokesperson said the pharmacy will offer the COVID vaccine  in states where it is able and in accordance with FDA requirements: to all adults ages 65 years and older, as well as to individuals under 65 who are at higher risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, as determined by the CDC.

A spokesperson for MaineHealth on Friday afternoon said the organization was not able to provide a reaction to the new federal guidance or detail how vaccines will be administered, but said that more information will be available next week.

In an email to patients last week, InterMed said its care teams strongly recommend people receive the flu shot each year and stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccines targeting emerging 2025 variants will be administered as soon as they are in stock, the email said.

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.