ORLANDO, Fla. — Many in Central Florida were left puzzled after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved more restrictive measures for the latest COVID-19 vaccines, with residents uncertain about whether they will be allowed to get the new shots or even where to find them.

Orlando resident Dawn Neff, who is in her 70s, said she called Walgreens to get the booster shot in preparation for an upcoming overseas trip but was told the pharmacy was not offering the vaccines until receiving further approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of Florida.

In frustration, she made plans to drive nearly five hours with her husband to a Walgreens in Valdosta, Georgia, on Friday to get jabbed with the COVID-19 shot. Georgia is among a dozen states where pharmacies offer the vaccines, but only with a prescription.

“I just think it’s crazy,” Neff said. “I don’t like when politics gets involved in medical decisions. It should be what your medical advisers tell you. …We’re both retired and have a car. But many people don’t have that option.”

Walgreens spokeswoman Brigid Sweeney confirmed in an email Thursday that “the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine is not available at Florida Walgreens” until the state receives “eligibility guidance” from the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, or ACIP, a panel of medical and public health experts within the CDC.

“This is obviously a quickly shifting situation,” Sweeney said.

It’s also confusing to residents because different pharmacies have interpreted the new federal guidelines differently.

Amy Thibault, an executive director for CVS Health, said CVS pharmacies offer the updated COVID-19 vaccines to patients, “if they present an authorized prescriber’s prescription” and meet the FDA restrictions.

The new FDA restrictions issued Aug. 27 on the COVID-19 boosters limit the vaccines to those 65 years and older, or people with certain medical conditions that may make them susceptible to severe illnesses, such as asthma, obesity, depression, cancer or a history of smoking.

However, anyone wanting to get the shots without a prescription, but still meets the restrictions, can schedule an appointment with, or walk into, one of CVS’ MinuteClinics, which are staffed with medical professionals that can issue prescriptions.

“There’s no need for (Neff) to drive five hours,” Thibault said.

Orlando resident Wayne Smith, who is 66, also has gotten every COVID-19 booster along with flu shots. On Thursday, he received his flu shot at a Walgreens pharmacy on Edgewater Drive but was told the COVID-19 vaccine was not available.

“I said: ‘That’s bullshit,’” Smith said angrily. “If you want a vaccine, you should be able to get it. It’s your body, your choice. Well, I have a choice: I want the COVID vaccine. I heard that this is the free state of Florida.”

Besides Florida, the 11 states that require medical prescriptions for the COVID-19 boosters are Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, though, signed a 30-day order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer the shot.

Pharmacies in 38 states can offer FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines without a prescription. Those include Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

According to the American Pharmacists Association, patients younger than 65 can vouch for themselves whether they have an underlying medical condition that could result in severe disease. But it’s unclear whether all pharmacies would allow someone wanting to get the COVID-19 shot to claim a medical exemption without documentation from a medical provider.

The ACIP is scheduled to meet Sept. 18 and 19 in a public meeting and likely issue its vaccine recommendations, including for the new COVID-19 boosters.

Still, the current inconsistencies among states and approvals has sparked confusion among Orlando residents. Retail pharmacies have long been the most convenient places for patients to get vaccines, including the latest COVID-19 shots. According to the CDC, more than 90% of people in the United States received the COVID-19 vaccines last year at a pharmacy.

Adding to the confusion, Dr. Susan Monarez was recently fired from her job as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — with less than a month in the position — after reportedly clashing with Health and Human Services director Robert Kennedy Jr. over vaccines.

Although the exact reasons for her ouster remain murky, Monarez’s departure triggered other CDC leaders to resign and drew bipartisan concerns from members of Congress. Kennedy has been a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

Kennedy also fired every ACIP member earlier this year and replaced them with a new board. Medicare will cover the costs for the shots since they were approved by the FDA. But it’s unclear whether health insurers will also cover those costs, which can run up to $150 without coverage.

Winter Springs resident Patty Grant said she went to several pharmacies this week for the latest COVID-19 booster approved by the FDA and was told that they were not distributing the shots until additional approval from the ACIP.

The 68-year-old has gotten every COVID-19 booster since 2021, and she now waits to see what the CDC and ACIP decides later this month.

“There’s this lack of information. It’s just pure frustration,” Grant said Friday. “When you have RFK Jr. saying anybody can get the vaccine, it’s not true. … I do believe in vaccines, and I want to get them. But it seems vaccine freedom should apply to all vaccines.”

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