New York will give pharmacists cover to dispense COVID-19 vaccines this fall in the wake of uncertainty over federal immunization policy.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday that will allow pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines. The Democratic governor said she took action to make it easier for a broader population of people to get jabs.

“I don't understand why you won't let families have the choice to protect their children's health. That's what this is about,” she said Friday at an event on Long Island.

The executive order allows physicians, pharmacists and nurse practitioners to administer COVID vaccines to people age 3 or older. The order cites recent actions by agencies controlled by federal Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy

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