Gov. Evers’ Executive Order Ensures Access to COVID-19 Vaccines
Move comes as federal FDA ends support of vaccines for most people.
COVID-19 vaccine. (Pixabay License).
Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Monday requiring insurance companies to continue covering COVID-19 vaccines as changes out of federal health agencies have restricted eligibility for the shots.
In the order, Evers called on the state Department of Health Services and pharmacy and insurance boards to “ensure vaccine access for Wisconsinites to the fullest extent of the law and available funding.”
It would also require DHS officials to respond publicly to changes in federal policy that spark “confusion and uncertainty,” offering new guidance about vaccine safety and accessibility as needed.
And the order calls on the state’s insurance commissioner to work with insurance companies to ensure that the people they covered are informed about vaccine access and costs.
Evers is the latest Democratic governor to push for vaccine access as the Food and Drug Administration changed its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations to cover only people over the age of 65 and people with certain medical conditions.
Previously, federal guidance recommended these vaccines for most people at most ages. Those recommendations reflected longstanding public health and scientific consensus stating that widespread vaccination is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of many diseases.
Those changes have taken place under direction from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has led the national Department of Health and Human Services since February. He’s overseen a seismic shakeup in national health policy and at agencies, including the ousting of leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the removal of experts from vaccine advisory committees.
In response, governors in Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and elsewhere have taken their own action on the matter. Those actions have included declaring a health emergency to preserve existing vaccines and directing insurance companies and pharmacies to provide shots without prescriptions.
And earlier this month, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington formed a West Coast public health alliance with similar goals.
At the same time, at least one Republican-led state has aligned more closely with the Trump administration’s vaccine skeptical goals. Public health leaders in Florida have said they’ll be working to end vaccine requirements for school-attending children.
Gov. Tony Evers signs executive order on vaccine access amid federal uncertainty was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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