COVID cases surge as vaccine access is limited

Doctors, pharmacists say federal guidance will discourage some from getting the shot.

- BY RONG-GONG LIN II

JENNY KANE Associated Press A PHARMACIST holds a COVID-19 vaccine dose in Portland, Ore. Shots could be more difficult to access.

Every year around this time, like clockwork, Marty Lazniarz would plan to get his regular COVID-19 vaccine — essential protection before heading out on a trip.

But this year, trying to get his routine shot has been anything but.

The 70-year-old retiree from Long Beach said it has been frustratingly difficult to get a COVID vaccine on time this year because of how the Trump administration has effectively postponed delivery of the shots, and made it harder for people to get them.

"The amount of confusion surrounding availability of the new vaccine has been maddening," said Lazniarz, who lost his best friend to COVID a year and a half ago.

He's far from the only one who is upset. Doctors and pharmacists report they are being inundated with questions about the uncertainty surrounding the long-available vaccines this fall.

Fueling that is the recent announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by the vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., that adults under 65 will have to consult with a healthcare professional or, in some states, attest that they have an underlying medical condition before they can get the updated version of the COVID vaccination this fall.

Parents this year are also required to talk to a healthcare professional before their children can be vaccinated.

Kennedy previously said the guidance would "keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable," while demanding additional research. But the additional hurdles are such that some healthier, younger people are wondering whether they should just say they have an underlying medical condition, even if they don't, to get the vaccine.