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3/25/2025
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House passes bill protecting kids’ access to COVID-19 vaccine at pharmacies
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STATE HOUSE – The House of Representatives today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Michelle McGaw on behalf of the Department of Health to ensure that pharmacists will be able to continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines to children, regardless of any changes at the federal level. The legislation also expands access to the flu vaccine at pharmacies to younger children.
Federal actions undertaken in response to the pandemic allowed pharmacists to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 3. Although those regulations are not set to expire until 2029, there is concern that if the current federal administration were to roll them back, access to vaccines for children, particularly those in underserved communities, would diminish.
For that reason, the Rhode Island Department of Health sought to enact those protections at the state level.
The legislation (2025-H 5427A) adds the COVID-19 vaccine to the state law allowing pharmacists to administer the flu vaccine to children, and changes the minimum age of the children eligible to receive those vaccines at a pharmacy from age 9 to age 3.
“Years of experience have shown us that allowing people, including children, to receive routine vaccines at pharmacies is safe and increases the likelihood that they will get them. Making it convenient to get the whole family vaccinated protects individuals as well as public health as a whole,” said Representative McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton), who works as consultant pharmacist serving the long-term care community. “Particularly given Rhode Island’s shortage of primary care physicians, we should ensure access to vaccines at pharmacies is protected in Rhode Island, so anyone and everyone can get their vaccines when they need them.”
According to the Department of Health, 43.9% of Rhode Island children ages 9 to 18 who received the COVID-19 vaccine in the 2023-2024 season received it at a pharmacy. The Department said 40 other states allow pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines to anyone younger than 18 under state authority. In addition to the Department of Health, the bill is supported by the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association.
Pharmacist-administered vaccination is critical to care in many underserved communities, where many people have limited access to health care and are more likely to struggle to find a primary care provider. Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera was among those who wrote testimony in support of the bill, relating how a mobile clinic set up in Central Falls by pharmacists helped numerous families in the city whose children were unable to register for school because they lacked common childhood vaccines.
The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Sen. Robert Britto (D-Dist. 18, Providence, Pawtucket) is sponsoring its companion (2025-S 0699).
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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