CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – COVID-19 vaccines have been a huge topic of conversation around the country since the pandemic five years ago.
Now in 2025, there is still an increase in confusion on whether or not you should get vaccinated and what the current guidelines are.
The latest COVID-19 vaccine available for patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but is still waiting on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which means there are stricter rules on where and who can receive the vaccine.
Dr. Robert Oliverio at Roper St. Francis encourages everyone to get vaccinated to protect themselves and help stop the spread of the disease to others.
“COVID for 2025-2026 is vastly different than what we have recommended before,” Oliverio said.
Anyone over the age of 65 is eligible to get vaccinated or can qualify by having a certain preexisting medical condition, at a nearby pharmacy.
Dottie’s Pharmacy Manager William Wier says they just got their shipment of the 2025-2026 covid vaccine.
“In the past, we pharmacies would not get the vaccine until it had gone through the entire approval process. But this year, we’re kind of in a limbo period in between the FDA approval and the CDC recommendations.” Wier said.
Those between the ages of six months and 65 need a prescription from a doctor to receive the vaccine at their local pharmacy.
“Docs aren’t really sure how do you make sure that you’re doing this properly? We’re not sure who’s going to pay for this if you do this off-label. It’s a very it’s a very confusing situation right now.” Oliverio said.
Oliverio says people can still get the vaccine from their primary care doctor, but it is considered off-label and might not be covered by all insurance.
As vaccines have become more of a debated topic, doctors say that doesn’t mean vaccines aren’t important.
“People still die of COVID. It just doesn’t happen like we saw it in 2020. “Viruses don’t have politics. They follow rules that we sort of figure out by science.” Oliverio said.
Their medical advice is to speak with healthcare provider about whether you qualify and what your options are for getting vaccinated.
“We want to be the easy button for the community to get vaccinated because, you know, that’s why we’re here. We want to help decrease disease and morbidity.” Oliverio said.
“Go to the CDC’s website and look at vaccine recommendations for your age group; that is kind of the gold standard,” Wier said.
CVS provided the following statement:
“State pharmacy laws govern where we can currently vaccinate. Based on FDA approval, we currently can offer FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines in the following states: AK, AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, ND, NH, NJ, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WI, and WY. (Prescriptions are not needed.)
Once ACIP acts on the updated COVID-19 vaccines or states take additional action to authorize pharmacy dispensing prior to ACIP recommendations, we’ll be able to offer the FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines in the remaining states.
Right now, dependent on state law, we can offer the updated COVID-19 vaccines to patients, depending on their age, prior to ACIP action, if they present an authorized prescriber’s prescription. Those states are – AZ, DC, FL, GA, LA, ME, NM, NY, UT, VA, WV.
Appointments can be scheduled online via CVS.com, through the CVS Health app, or patients can walk into our pharmacies and clinics.”
The S.C. Department of Public Health provided the following statement:
“There are currently four COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Federal Drug Administration:
- Moderna Low-Dose Vaccine (mNexspike)
- Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (Spikevax)
- Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
- Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (Comirnaty)
DPH continues to monitor indicators of COVID-19 circulating in our communities and available data show activity is increasing. DPH encourages all South Carolinians to talk with their provider regarding if COVID-19 vaccination is right for them to prevent illness. For most people, the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and an effective way to reduce the risk of getting severely sick with COVID-19.
As we approach cold and flu season, DPH wants to remind everyone that regular hand washing, covering your cough and staying home if you’re sick are also ways to reduce illness, possible complications and disease spread in our communities.”
For more information on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, click here.
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