Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday he is exploring how he could require insurers to continue the nearly universal coverage of inoculating against COVID, contradicting the Trump administration.
“People ought to have the choice. They ought to be able to get the COVID vaccine at their local pharmacy. That’s what I’m looking at right now,” Lamont said.
His staff was weighing the legal options available to the governor and had consulted with CVS, a major provider of COVID inoculations, over what state guidance would be sufficient to assure the continued availability.
Using different legal instruments, the governors of Massachusetts and New York took steps last week to require pharmacies to continue providing free access to COVID vaccinations, as was standard until recently.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order Thursday requiring insurers to continue covering the cost of the vaccinations, but the Bay State has a pharmacy regulatory structure that appears to give Healey authority unavailable to Lamont.
The Massachusetts Association of Health Plans supported Healey’s order.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, then issued a similar executive order to Healey’s under her emergency powers. Lamont was exploring whether he might have to make a similar declaration.
On Aug. 27, the Food and Drug Administration recommended limiting vaccinations to people age 65 and older or to those who have certain risk factors, upending what has been the status quo for several years.
The FDA change meant that people younger than 65 might need a prescription and face out-of-pocket costs for a booster.
Lamont called it misguided and premature.
“The COVID vaccine helped us get through COVID during the worst days, better than just about any other state. It’s not behind us yet,” Lamont said of the virus.
The state Insurance Department deferred questions to the governor’s office.
Susan Halpin, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, said the group would support a measure from Lamont similar to that issued by other states.
“CTAHP would be pleased to work with State of CT to support evidence-based public health wellness through an expansion of vaccination policy,” she wrote.
The action by the FDA, which is part of the Health and Human Services Department overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, generated confusion about vaccine access, as well as prompting hostile questions to Kennedy during a Senate hearing last week.
An advisory panel on vaccines at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to meet on Sept. 18 and 19. It has yet to issue its guidance, but Kennedy has overhauled the committee with new members who have expressed anti-vaccine views.
At the Senate hearing last week, Kennedy insisted the vaccines remain widely available, clashing with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who insisted that was not the case.
“If you don’t recommend, then the consequence of that in many states is that you can’t walk into a pharmacy and get one,” Warren said. “It means insurance companies don’t have to cover the $200 or so cost.”
“It depends on the states,” Kennedy said. “But they can still get it. Everybody can get it. Everybody can get it, senator.”
Lamont took questions from reporters about vaccine coverage at an event in Canton celebrating the state’s release of $2.5 million in funding for a workforce training center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He denounced the new recommendations.
“We’ve had a pretty good protocol going. We’ve had clear rules. People know what the rules are. I don’t think they need to sit around confusing things, which is what they’re doing and Bobby Kennedy is doing,” Lamont said Monday morning.
It was unclear then, however, whether the governor’s administration had yet to fully explore its legal authority. Rob Blanchard, a spokesman for Lamont, said later Monday that the Bay State’s regulatory structure appeared to give Healey greater authority.
Lamont said he has consulted with New York and Massachusetts about how to continue easy access to inoculations against COVID and other diseases, as recommended by state public health officials.
“I want to speak with one voice when it comes to the vaccines in general, the COVID vaccine in particular,” Lamont said.
CT Mirror reporter Katy Golvala contributed to this story.
Mark Pazniokas is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).
https://www.courant.com/2025/09/09/lamont-weighs-how-to-ensure-covid-vaccines-access-in-ct/
