Healey puts Mass. on its own vaccine path

Read entire story at the Commonwealth Beacon

After months of state public health officials vowing to protect vaccine access amid drastic federal changes, Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday announced state measures designed to break ties with federal immunization policies, ensure the availability of COVID-19 booster shots at retail pharmacies, mandate insurance coverage of vaccines and establish a regional public health collaborative.

“Under the Trump administration, the CDC has been hijacked by people like Robert Kennedy – people who don’t believe in science and people who don’t believe in science-based health care,” Healey said at a press conference, surrounded by state health care and industry leaders and lawmakers focused on health policy.

“As a result, the government is failing its responsibility to Americans, including Bay Staters,” Healey added. “So we’re here to say: This is not going to happen in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, we will not let Donald Trump or Robert Kennedy get in the way of patients, and the care, and the treatments and the medication that they want and need.”