CDC recommends coronavirus vaccine with new caveat. Here’s what to know.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said it had officially recommended updated coronavirus vaccines, creating a new system to get a shot that’s slightly more complicated than in previous years.

The agency approved a federal vaccine advisory panel’s recommendation last month urging people to first consult a clinician before getting the coronavirus shot. The move marked a shift from previous CDC policy that made vaccines widely available to nearly all Americans without question or cost.

In August, the Food and Drug Administration narrowed approval of updated coronavirus shots to those people ages 65 and older or who have underlying conditions that elevate their risk for severe disease—prompting weeks of confusion among patients, health care providers and state health departments about who can get the vaccine.

The CDC vaccine panel recommended the shots to people regardless of age or health conditions under the concept of “shared clinical decision-making,” meaning people should first consult a medical professional. The extent of such consultations may differ across states and even individual pharmacies and doctor’s offices.

“Informed consent is back,” Jim O’Neill, the acting CDC director, said in a statement, asserting that a “blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent.”

O’Neill also adopted the panel’s recommendation for children under the age of 4 to skip a combination measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox vaccine, which is given to about 15 percent of children receiving their first dose of vaccination for those diseases. That marks the first change to the routine immunization schedule under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is helming a broad review of childhood vaccines he has maligned for years.

The CDC now recommends receiving the chicken pox vaccine separately from the MMR vaccine, but O’Neill signaled he wants to break up the shots further.

In an X post Monday, O’Neill urged manufacturers to develop individual vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella, following a similar demand from President Donald Trump. Merck, which manufactures the MMR vaccine, said in a statement that no scientific evidence shows a benefit in separating the combination vaccine and that administering three separate vaccines could result in delayed or missed immunizations.

Here’s what to know about getting a coronavirus vaccine:

What does it mean to consult a clinician?

The CDC website lists health care providers who can be involved in discussing vaccines with patients. They include anyone else who provides or administers vaccines, including primary care physicians, specialists, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and registered nurses.

That means a person doesn’t necessarily need to make a doctor’s appointment to get a vaccine.

Pharmacists are trained to discuss pros and cons of all medications with patients, including coronavirus vaccines.

The CDC has not recommended “shared clinical decision-making” for most routine vaccines, although it did for coronavirus vaccines for healthy children under a policy that changed in the spring.

Why did the CDC change recommendations?

Trump administration officials have said the new approach to coronavirus shot recommendations would emphasize whether vaccination makes sense for the individual.

“The clinical decision to vaccinate should be based on patient characteristics that unlike age are difficult to incorporate in recommendations, including risk factors for the underlying disease as well as the characteristics of the vaccine itself and the best available evidence of who may benefit from vaccination,” O’Neill said.

Republicans have increasingly focused on the concept of informed consent— sharing the risks of a particular medical intervention—to push back against vaccine policies they describe as heavy-handed.

Public health experts have said that focusing too greatly on potential harms can unduly scare patients and overshadow the shots’ lifesaving benefits.

Some doctors on Monday criticized O’Neill’s comment that “informed consent is back,” saying doctors already talk about risks and benefits with their patients.

“Every day in clinic, I engage in informed, respectful partnerships with parents to help them make the best vaccine decisions for their children,” said David Higgins, a pediatrician who teaches at the University of Colorado at Anschutz medical campus.

Where can I get a shot?

Check with your pharmacy or doctor to see whether they have received the vaccines.

CVS and Walgreens, the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, said Monday they are now offering updated shots nationwide without requiring a prescription.

Availability at doctor’s offices, especially pediatricians, may vary. Local health departments may also offer vaccines.

How do I get a coronavirus vaccine at a pharmacy?

You’ll be able to get an updated coronavirus shot in every state without a prescription, according to the American Pharmacists Association. “You should be able walk into your pharmacy just like you have every other season,” said Michael D. Hogue, the association’s CEO.

Some pharmacies may require a patient to review and fill out a questionnaire that discusses the risks and benefits of vaccines, Hogue told The Post last month. “It might be just a little bit more time-consuming by a couple of minutes, but it should be, for most consumers, pretty seamless to be able to get the shot now,” he said.

At CVS, a pharmacist will ask patients whether they have any concerns or questions, Amy Thibault, a company spokeswoman, said last month. “If not, the patient will be given the vaccine,” Thibault said. “In simplest terms, if a patient wants to get the vaccine, they’ll get it.”

At Walgreens, “Patients are encouraged to talk with their pharmacists about any concerns or questions they may have,” spokesman Jonathon Hosea previously said.

It’s possible some pharmacies may take different interpretations of shared clinical decision-making, similar to how pharmacies have adopted differing policies about prescriptions and proving underlying conditions.

Do I need to prove an underlying condition?

For the past few weeks, patients had been asked in person or during online bookings at CVS and other locations if they are eligible for the shot because of an array of underlying conditions previously outlined by the FDA, including heart problems, asthma, obesity, a history of smoking and even physical inactivity.

But after the CDC green-lit the panel’s recommendations, you won’t need to attest to any underlying conditions at CVS and the questions will be removed from the online booking system, according to its spokesperson. Unlike the FDA, the vaccine panel did not designate any health conditions as part of its recommendation for anyone over the age of 6 months old.

Walgreens will also not require proof of an underlying condition, its spokesman previously said.

Will insurance cover my shot?

Most Americans are expected to keep free access to coronavirus vaccines. Insurers must also pay for vaccines recommended under shared clinical decision-making, though past rules have caused confusion.

AHIP, the leading health insurance trade group, pledged to cover costs through the end of 2026. Federal health officials said Medicare, Medicaid and other public programs will continue covering the shots.

The CDC recommendation allows clinicians who participate in the federal Vaccines for Children Program to order the updated coronavirus shots. Providers, including community health centers, have been delayed until now because ordering required CDC sign-off. The program supplies free vaccines to children who are uninsured, underinsured or Medicaid-eligible, about 50 percent of children in the United States.

Pfizer provides free vaccines or helps cover co-payments for certain eligible uninsured individuals through its PfizerRxPathways.com program. Moderna, meanwhile, partners with Project Hope and Direct Relief to distribute no-cost vaccines through federally qualified health centers and charitable clinics. Sanofi, which is overseeing commercialization of the new Novavax vaccine for people 12 and older, has not said whether it will offer comparable programs.

The Patient Advocate Foundation is also covering coronavirus vaccine co-payments for certain lower-income people and families.

What are the latest COVID-19 trends?

The summer COVID wave appears to be receding. CDC data shows that the weekly COVID hospitalization rate spiked between mid-July and early September and has since plummeted.

COVID hospitalizations have become less common because of wider immunity, but infants and people over the age of 75 are the most likely to be admitted. In August, deaths attributed to the virus were between 200 and 250 each week, according to CDC data. The same month in 2024, deaths typically surpassed 1,000.

Health experts say it makes sense to receive coronavirus vaccines ahead of colder fall and winter months when respiratory viruses are more likely to spread and COVID upticks tend to return.