New York lawmakers are pushing to broaden access to COVID-19 vaccines as President Donald Trump’s administration adds new restrictions.
Several legislators have introduced bills to reduce the state’s reliance on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine which vaccines should be available and to whom. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been skeptical of vaccines, putting him at odds with established public health leaders in New York and elsewhere. He oversees the federal Food and Drug Administration, which approves vaccines, as well as the CDC.
The state lawmakers say they want New Yorkers to be able to easily access vaccines at pharmacies and doctors’ offices and can no longer trust the federal government to act based on medical