Some time ago I predicted that I would have to travel to Canada to get my flu and covid vaccinations this fall. I do not. I can get them for no cost within a five minute drive of my home because I am over 65 and have an insurance plan that was negotiated by the United Federation of Teachers (the union representing Registered Nurses at my employer—I am an ally, but not a member).
If I were not 65, I would have to get the 2025-26 Moderna Covid-19 vaccine “off-label,” which means a physician has to order it and a pharmacist cannot give the injection. As a Registered Nurse, I could give the injection to someone else, but only under a direct medical prescription order for a specific patient. I couldn’t do what I did during the pandemic.
Since almost all modern vaccines in the US, particularly those available to the general public, are given by pharmacists at pharmacies these days (something I support 100%) this change in the FDA label amounts to a barrier for children, pregnant women, and adults not yet 65 (who perhaps frequent high-risk settings like mass transit and commercial aviation) to routine vaccination for Covid-19 this fall. They will have to make a doctor’s appointment and get a prescription, which is often too onerous a task for people to attempt when they are actually ill.
If I weren’t 65, I would ask my doctor first, but if she couldn’t help me in some way (she wouldn’t refuse me, but she might not have vaccine in her office or know who does) I would probably make the visit to Montreal I’ve been promising myself (for other reasons) this September instead of leaving it as an unplanned aspiration for the future.
I want that juice in my arm. If I get infected with Covid this fall, I want to stay home with it—not even needing to call my doctor (that’s what Covid vaccines actually do, they don’t prevent Covid).
I surmise that the Felon-in-Chief and his political mobsters feared the over-65 voter when they made this policy; this FDA labeling change has nothing to do with vaccine science. In fact, it makes the world a far more dangerous place for the over-65 vaccinated.
I know you’re tired of hearing this, but people will die because RFK Jr. is making US health policy, they will die not only in the US, but around the world. The corpses won’t be deposited at his feet, they will hardly be noticed, maybe not even counted, but they will all be just as dead, and just as much someone’s child, someone’s sibling, and/or someone’s parent.
Justice is actually too cruel for RFK Jr., I don’t even wish accountability for this crime on him, I just want him stopped. He can go back to jacking-off on FaceTime with Olivia Nuzzi and staging dead game animals for his social media in Central Park. We can put up with that, he and Ms. Nuzzi can love who they chose to love, no worries, but stop killing people to get a better grift going. Maybe go into business with Gwyneth.
Anyway, my advice is simple. Get vaccinated. get your kids vaccinated, by all means get vaccinated if you are pregnant. That what the science tells us to do, reality hasn’t changed, the physical world follows the same laws it did last year.
If you are over 65, come on, open that CVS or Walgreens app on your phone and make an appointment. Pay for it if you have to. Get the 2025-26 Covid-19 vaccine and the flu vaccines now. There’s a wave going on in the country right now. It is worse in the south and the west, but it is also worse among people who frequent airports and use mass transit. Trump is scared of the over-65 voter, he owes many of them his current protection from criminal prosecution. I know, that disgusts me too that this is why I can get vaccinated when people I care for can’t, but get the juice.
If you are under 65 and don’t qualify under the other vague exemptions for on-label use, call your family doctor and ask if they will write you an off-label prescription.
If they refuse, look for a new doctor.
I hate to break this to you, but no matter how much you like them, and no matter what success you have enjoyed with them in the past, they aren’t following the science. Period. There is no room for debate on this. The science is unequivocal. These idiots at the FDA are lying for money (or to keep their jobs). Nothing has changed about vaccine science, there have been no new relevant discoveries, no adverse effect recently uncovered. Nothing.
Montreal, Vancouver, Alberta, and Toronto are all lovely in the fall. Don’t forget Puerto Vallarta, Bangkok, the EU, etc. If you have plans to be out of the country anyway, put getting a vaccine on your todo list while you’re in a country with a sane government.
There is no new reason, grounded in science, not to get vaccinated this fall.
None.
It's worrisome to imagine that your readers may need to be encouraged to get their vaccines, given it's so obvious that the science has not changed. But I'm glad you're saying this for those in doubt.
Like you, I was getting ready to go to Canada for my shots but my passport situation is taking far longer than expected. So I'm very glad I can get shots nearby. I'm over 65 and I have United Medicare Advantage, which makes me nervous with their habit of denying coverage, but I doubt they'd refuse to cover the jabs. If they do, I'll pay myself.
I expect a flood of people - needlessly sick with flu or Covid - flocking to doctors' offices, or emergency rooms if they've lost their Medicaid.
As for the off-label option, I've read that it depends on the state whether it's even available. Given RFK Jr.'s hostility to drug companies, medical practitioners may be justifiably wary of incurring a potential liability and maybe losing their license.
A close friend of mine, in her early 60s, emailed me recently that she'd pay for the shots on her own "if the price is reasonable." I was stunned. I wrote back, asking her how much her health was worth to her? (She has very deep pockets). And I pointed out that enclosed spaces like airplanes may become Petri dishes due to a big increase in unvaccinated people. She takes a cross-country flight several times a year to see her 90 year old mother, so I pointed out that skipping the jabs is unwise.
Again, thanks for your thoughtful posts.