With U.S. Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. under fire for his anti-vaccine stance – especially as it involves children – parents and doctors in South Carolina say they’re frustrated by the uncertainty of whether they will or won’t be able to vaccinate their children against Covid this fall.
“I tried to get [a vaccine shot] for my son, who qualifies even under the needlessly restrictive eligibility requirements,” wrote Amanda McDougald-Scott in a text. “And I’m still being told he can’t get one.”
McDougald-Scott, a former Democratic party leader in Greenville, and mother of two boys – ages 9 years (with asthma) and 15 months – said she’s found few answers to her questions about vaccine eligibility for her family, including where to get a shot or whether insurance would cover it.
She said she’s called pharmacies, including CVS – one of the state’s largest providers of Covid-19 vaccinations – and was told there is no vaccine available. The same, she said, happened with her pediatrician.
According to the South Carolina Department of Health (DPH), the four FDA approved Covid vaccines – Moderna Low-Dose Vaccine (mNexspike), Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine (Spikevax), Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine (Comirnaty), and Novavax (for adults) – “will arrive at pharmacies and other providers at different times. The best way to find out if a provider has Covid-19 vaccine available is to call or check the [DPH] website. DPH usually gets Covid-19 vaccines early October.”
On its website, CVS states that the vaccine is available now, with “age and other restrictions” and that shots are “free with most insurance.”
In an email statement, CVS said that “based on FDA approval,” it can provide Covid-19 shots in South Carolina (and 39 other states) without a prescription. An appointment is needed.
The FDA has approved Spikevax for children at least 6 months old; Comirnaty for children at least 5 years old; and mNexspike for anyone ages 12 to 64.
According to the Walgreen’s website, Covid vaccines are currently available in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina for patients with a prescription. In 36 states, vaccine is available without a prescription. In three states – Florida, Maine, and Nevada – plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands, the vaccine will be available at Walgreen’s pharmacies once the American Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issues eligibility guidance.
ACIP has two meetings set for the remainder of 2025 – Sept. 18 and 19, and Oct. 22 and 23.
Such uncertainty about what might be available to whom, when, and where is taking its toll on parents – and non-parents – said Dr. Martha Edwards, president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
One of the many hard-to-answer questions about the Covid vaccine in late 2025 is whether insurance will cover the cost of a shot.
“ It's not clear whether any private insurances are gonna cover it,” Dr. Edwards said. “So, a lot of people just don't want to bother with all of the uncertainty, and so they're not going to get vaccinated.”
South Carolina state employees can get a free vaccination through the Public Employee Benefits Agency (PEBA), according to the PEBA website. For those covered under Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina, coverage depends on supply. According to the company’s website, “Vaccines that come from the current federal supply will be free. Once that supply ends, the vaccine will be covered under your health plan’s normal provisions.”
None of these provisions, however, deal with children, who are caught between what the official CDC recommendations directed by Kennedy state and what medical associations abide by.
Current CDC guidelines do not recommend Covid vaccination for healthy children or pregnant women – counter to the recommendations of most national medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, among others.
These groups have, in fact, sued Kennedy “for acting arbitrarily and capriciously when he unilaterally changed Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people,” according to an American College of Physicians report.
Dr. Melissa Nolan, a professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina, sits on the Clinical Practice Guidelines Board of the Infectious Disease Society of America. In a text, she wrote: “Covid vaccine recommendation changes are from Kennedy. No clinical societies are recommending changes to vaccine guidelines."
Dr. Edwards said that members of the American Academy of Pediatrics “practice according to our association's guidelines, which are very meticulously made up by experts in the field.”
In other words, pediatricians do not necessarily abide by CDC recommendations if they feel those recommendations conflict with best public health practice.
Exactly how the CDC’s restrictions and guidelines really apply, however, is hard to nail down. Currently, anyone age 65 years or older can get a Covid shot without a prescription. The same is true for anyone at least 6 months old, provided they have at least one high-risk health condition.
“Adults, children and teens with obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease, or who are immunocompromised can also be at increased risk for getting very sick” from Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s website. “Parents of children ages 6 months to 17 years should discuss the benefits of vaccination with a healthcare provider.”
Dr. Edwards said she encourages vaccination and conversation.
‘“We feel that young children should be vaccinated, and that … pregnant mothers should be vaccinated,” she said. “I think checking in with your pediatrician, checking in with your obstetrician, if you're planning on having children, are important things to do right now.”
But having to see a doctor to discuss options does not sit well with everyone.
“I have the privilege of calling my family doctor to make an informed decision about accessing Covid and other vaccines,” wrote Jennifer McAdams of Rock Hill in a text. McAdams has two children under age 18. “Many families across the state don’t have access to regular medical care. They don’t have a doctor to call.”
And then there’s cost.
A Rock Hill woman who asked not to be named in this story, is 60 years old and cares for her mother, who is in her 80s. She said cost is a real concern if she ends up needing to get a prescription ahead of her her own Covid shot.
“I’d rather be able to walk in and get [a Covid shot] than go to the doctor’s and have to pay extra for that,” she said.
