A new legislative fight may be brewing over the issue, however. More than 30 Democrats in the state House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of House Bill 1881 with no Republican co-sponsors. Senate Bill 989, a companion to the house legislation, has 12 co-sponsors – only one of whom is a Republican (Sen. Elder Vogel).

The Food and Drug Administration already had placed new restrictions on this year’s shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, reserving them for people over 65 or younger who are deemed at higher risk from the virus.

In a series of votes Sept. 19, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step of not recommending them even for high-risk populations like seniors. Instead they decided people could make individual decisions after talking with a doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

The divided panel narrowly avoided urging states to require a prescription for the shot. The move came after protests from some of the advisers that the extra step would block access to vaccination.

Senator Maria Collett D Senate District 12

Independent public health experts reacted with relief that the panel didn’t add more roadblocks to vaccination, but they said the lack of a recommendation will prove confusing for people who don’t know if a shot might benefit them.

In response, state Reps. Arvind Venkat, Tarik Khan, Bridget M. Kosierowski and Jennifer M. O’Mara have introduced legislation to protect Pennsylvanians’ access to vaccines provided by pharmacists, regardless of federal policy changes.

“Chaos in federal health agency policymaking, which is no longer backed by scientific evidence but instead by anti-vaccine ideology, will cost people’s lives,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “This legislation will allow Pennsylvanians to avoid the politicization of health care and get the lifesaving vaccines they need, even if the federal government stops recommending them purely due to politics.”

Current state law allows pharmacists to administer vaccines based on CDC recommendations. The new legislation, H.B. 1881, would also allow pharmacists to provide vaccines based on recommendations from Pennsylvania health authorities, which may draw from guidance issued by professional medical societies. Under the proposal, state vaccination approvals would come from Pennsylvania’s health authorities and could be informed by professional medical societies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

“I’ve cared for patients who got sick because they couldn’t get the vaccines they needed,” said Khan, D-Philadelphia. “No parent should have to worry that politics in Washington will stop their child from getting a lifesaving shot. That’s why this legislation matters — it ensures people can get protected here in Pennsylvania, and it will save lives.”

Sen. Nick Pisciottano D Senate District 45

On Wednesday Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order directing the Pennsylvania Department of Health to establish a state-based safety net to protect children’s access to vaccines, requires all state agencies to align policies with medical experts, launches a central online vaccine portal and to create a Vaccine Education Workgroup to strengthen public communication. It also ensures continued coverage of recommended vaccines for all Pennsylvanians through Medicaid and private insurance, and directs the Department of Aging and the Department of Education to support older adults and schools in following evidence-based guidance.

In August, the Trump Administration disrupted COVID vaccine access across Pennsylvania, forcing pharmacies to halt vaccinations — even for seniors and people with underlying conditions. Shapiro responded by asking that the State Board of Pharmacy convene to address disruptions in vaccine access. The board subsequently voted to permit pharmacists to follow guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), instead of waiting on politically-influenced recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

In September, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reversed long-standing recommendations on the Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella (MMRV) vaccine for children under 4. The Pennsylvania Department of Health responded by expanding the list of trusted authorities that health care providers could rely on and issued new immunization guidance.

Also, to prevent new financial barriers, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department secured commitments from insurers to continue covering all previously recommended vaccines through at least 2026.

The introduction of this legislation comes less than a month after Khan, Kosierowski and Venkat, all health care professionals, introduced H.B. 1828, which would protect coverage by private insurers for vaccines recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Health that may be informed by professional medical societies. House Bill 1828 will be voted on in the House Insurance Committee on Oct. 7.

Along with the four lawmakers, 31 other state representatives have co-sponsored the legislation. House Bill 1881 will now move to the House Professional Licensure Committee for consideration.

The following memo was circulated by Senators Maria Colletti and Nick Pisciotti on September 19, 2025 to all Senate members.

Protecting Pennsylvanians’

Access to Vaccines through Pharmacists

Vaccines are among the most effective public health measures we have. It is estimated over 150 million lives have been saved over the last 50 years by vaccines. Pennsylvanians commonly use pharmacies to receive recommended vaccines.

The statutory basis for pharmacists administering vaccines comes from our state laws delineating pharmacists’ practice authority. In our current laws, much of that authority relies upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Food and Drug Administration.

However, recent actions at the federal level have compromised the reliability of those institutions. In response, Pennsylvania’s State Board of Pharmacy voted to blunt the impact of those actions. And while this is a commendable reaction, more must be done at the state level to insulate Pennsylvanians from ideologically driven shifts in federal public health policy–especially where those shifts are aimed at vaccines.

It is important to acknowledge that a state-by-state approach is not ideal, but the destabilization of public health institutions at the federal level not only warrants but requires the states to take protective measures.

We recently introduced SB 989 as a Senate companion to House efforts requiring insurance companies to cover vaccines as recommended by Pennsylvania health authorities and with the input of professional medical societies. Similarly, we will introduce the Senate companion to legislation introduced in the House by Representatives Venkat, Khan, Kosierowski, and O’Mara that will ensure pharmacists’ practice authority on vaccine administration can derive from previously approved recommendations, federal public health recommendations, or state health authorities’ recommendations that may be informed by professional medical or pharmacists societies.

Please join us in protecting Pennsylvanians’ access to the life-saving public health intervention of vaccines.