Vermont’s pharmacies and health professionals are grappling with new federal COVID-19 vaccine regulations announced on September 2, 2025, as the ramifications of broader national policy shifts ripple across the healthcare landscape. The latest rules, unveiled by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., restrict vaccine eligibility to adults 65 and older and to children and adults with at least one medical condition that increases their risk for severe illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists asthma, diabetes, disabilities, and cancer among qualifying conditions.
But the question of who pays for these vaccines looms large. With insurance coverage still uncertain, the cost of a single dose could exceed $100—a price tag that worries both patients and providers. "As it stands right now, we are not even sure if we are going to be able to offer the COVID vaccines," said Ryan Quinn, manager of Lakeside Pharmacy in Burlington, Vermont. "These aren’t cheap. They’re unfortunately very expensive, costing not only the patient hundreds of dollars to get, but the pharmacies as well," Quinn told local reporters.
Larger pharmacy chains, like CVS, have already built the new eligibility rules into their scheduling systems. Patients who indicate they are not high-risk are now told they’re ineligible for a vaccine appointment. Walgreens, meanwhile, has not yet opened scheduling, citing supply uncertainties. This confusion is not limited to Vermont; according to The New York Times, CVS and Walgreens have clamped down on offering COVID vaccines in more than a dozen states, even to those who meet the newly restricted criteria.
Despite the shifting landscape, local health professionals in Vermont continue to urge eligible residents to pursue vaccination. Dr. Tim Lahey, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, emphasized, “Things haven’t changed. It’s still a very good idea to get the vaccine if you can.” He encouraged patients to consult their doctors about eligibility, adding, “I hope it doesn’t repel people. Medicine is medicine and that shouldn’t be overly politicized.”
The Vermont Department of Health is also working to understand the new federal regulations and their potential impact. A spokesperson acknowledged, "We understand that the changing federal guidance on the new COVID vaccines continues to cause confusion for the public and for health care providers. We share the concern that access for other people who want and need the COVID vaccine could be impacted."
These local concerns reflect a much larger, national upheaval in public health policy, with consequences that extend far beyond Vermont’s borders. According to Protect Our Care, a health advocacy group, catastrophic effects are being felt nationwide due to policies enacted under President Donald Trump and Secretary Kennedy. Their report cites anti-vaccine actions, deep budget cuts, and a series of abrupt leadership changes as endangering the lives of millions of Americans.
One of the most dramatic recent developments occurred at the CDC itself. On September 3, 2025, the White House fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign amid pressure to approve new vaccine policies. Her lawyers accused Kennedy of “weaponizing public health for political gain” and “putting millions of American lives at risk” by purging experienced health officials. In their statement, attorneys Mark S. Zaid and Abbe Lowell said, “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that reason, she has been targeted.”
The firing of Monarez was the culmination of escalating conflicts over vaccine policy, including the removal of independent members from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the appointment of vaccine skeptics to the influential panel. This shakeup prompted several top CDC officials to resign in protest, including Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who warned of an “unfettered situation where undue influence and ideology would drive the science.” The departures sparked a staff “clap out” protest at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, as dozens of employees marched and held signs in solidarity with their departing colleagues, according to Axios.
Medical experts and public health workers warn that the internal crisis at the CDC is already spilling over into real-world harms. As STAT reported, the loss of experienced leaders and the uncertainty surrounding vaccine recommendations are sowing confusion among the public and raising serious concerns about the nation’s preparedness for future health emergencies.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s sweeping budget cuts have had uneven effects across the country. According to KFF Health News, blue states that sued the federal government managed to restore nearly 80% of their CDC grant funding, while fewer than 5% of such funds have been reinstated in Republican-led states. These grants, worth approximately $11 billion, had supported vaccination campaigns, efforts to reduce health disparities, and upgrades to disease surveillance systems. The loss of funding has left many local health departments struggling to maintain basic services.
The turmoil has also reached the research community. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, a network of 16 leading hospitals and cancer centers, was recently ordered to halt enrollment in clinical trials for children with brain cancer after being informed that federal funding would not be renewed beyond March 2026. Autism researchers, too, report that federal grant freezes are hampering their work, even as President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have promised to deliver a report explaining the rise in autism diagnoses. Many scientists argue that such research is more critical than ever, yet faces unprecedented obstacles.
Further compounding the crisis, the CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) scaled back its monitoring as of July 1, 2025, now tracking only two pathogens—salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli—down from eight. This reduction, NBC News reports, could have severe consequences for public health, especially for vulnerable populations like newborns and those with weakened immune systems.
In the midst of these sweeping changes, President Trump has sent mixed signals about the COVID-19 vaccines. On social media, he recently demanded that drug companies “prove publicly that vaccines are effective in combating Covid and questioned whether unspecified data was being withheld from the public.” This ambiguity, paired with the administration’s embrace of vaccine skepticism, has left many Americans uncertain about the future of immunization policy.
The cumulative effect of these policy shifts, leadership purges, and funding cuts is a public health system under strain. Vermont’s local struggles with vaccine access and affordability are echoed nationwide, as the nation faces what some experts are calling the greatest crisis of confidence in public health in decades. As the CDC’s credibility and capacity are tested, the stakes for communities—large and small—have rarely been higher.
For now, the message from Vermont’s health professionals remains clear: get vaccinated if you can, and don’t hesitate to ask your doctor for guidance. But with the nation’s public health infrastructure in turmoil, the path forward is anything but certain.
