Sentara has advised its doctors to avoid writing prescriptions for the latest COVID-19 vaccine, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s pending decision on the 2025-26 version.
Four people, three of whom are older than 65 and one Virginia Media editor, said their Sentara-affiliated doctors would not give them a prescription for a COVID-19 vaccine over the last week. A Sentara spokesman, however, said practitioners can choose to issue a prescription.
Mary Daddio, 71, a recently retired speech pathologist from Virginia Beach who worked for Sentara for more than 20 years, said she asked her doctor last week if she and her husband, 77, could have prescriptions for a vaccine ahead of a planned flight to visit their pregnant daughter. She said her doctor felt she should have the vaccine, but couldn’t provide a prescription and initially cited an internal bureaucratic issue.
After sending a complaint through Sentara customer service, Daddio said she was contacted by a Sentara representative who told her the hospital chain isn’t providing prescriptions due to the lack of formal approval by the CDC.
“I’m very angry,” Daddio said in an interview. “This is politics, my doctor felt I should have it … and she can’t give it to me because Sentara is waiting probably for (federal Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) to approve it.”
On Wednesday, Daddio said, she was able to get the vaccine at a Walgreens without a prescription.
Gary Byler, 68, a longtime attorney with Byler Iaquinto Law, said his doctor of 25 years told him Sentara considers providing the COVID-19 vaccine is currently “illegal under Virginia law.”
Sentara spokesman Dale Gauding said in an emailed statement that Sentara doctors can write prescriptions for Covid vaccines “according to their clinical judgement.”
“A recent internal communication does advise waiting until the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) finalizes its clinical recommendations at its meeting on September 19th,” Gauding said. “However, Sentara providers can write Covid vaccine prescriptions based on patients’ age, medical conditions and need.”
Sentara is the most prominent health-care provider in eastern Virginia. In addition to operating several hospitals, its practitioners provide primary care for roughly 400,000 people in Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina.
The health-care industry has been rife with confusion over the most recent versions of the Covid-19 vaccine. CVS and Walgreens have had conflicting policies on whether they would provide the vaccine, differing by state. As recently as last week, Virginia was among 16 states where the two pharmacy chains were not administering the vaccines without a prescription. Other outlets are offering the new vaccine without a prescription.
The CDC’s current guidance only references the 2024-25 coronavirus vaccine formulation, not the 2025-26 version, according to the Virginia Department of Health, though manufacturers have begun shipping the new vaccine.
Byler said he spoke with state Attorney General Jason Miyares about the issue earlier this week. In response to a request for comment Wednesday, Miyares’ office cited the Virginia Department of Health’s guidance.
“At this time, Virginians can contact their healthcare provider to ask about receiving the Covid vaccine or to request a prescription for administration at their pharmacy.”
“The Attorney General believes that anyone who wants to receive a Covid-19 vaccination should have the option to do so,” a Miyares spokesperson said in an email.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
