CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – CVS pharmacies in Virginia will now require a physician’s prescription in order for people to receive the updated 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine, the company confirmed Friday.

Virginia is one of 14 states where the company will follow that policy, “based on the current regulatory environment.”

Customers at CVS Minute Clinics can still receive the vaccine without a prescription, CVS executive director of corporate communications Amy Thibault told Cville Right Now on Friday.

“We expect to receive the updated 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines in the coming days,” Thibault said in an email. “We’ll administer FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in states where legally permitted at CVS Pharmacy and/or MinuteClinic to meet our patients’ needs.”

The policy is also in effect in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Washington D.C.

“This is going create a serious challenge and healthcare concerns for so many Virginians,” Sen. Ghazala Hashmi told Cville Right Now on Friday. “We have seen the efficacy of the Covid vaccines. the fact that we were able to address the pandemic and begin to restore health for millions of individuals through the vaccination programs that was a success that we should be proud about and instead now we’re seeing the dismantling of CDC. We’re seeing attacks on our researchers and scientists and our medical professionals. We’re seeing dismantling of public trust and in the capacity of our professionals to provide the best care and service.”

The regulations are impacted multiple pharmacies.

“With the recent FDA approval of the 2025–2026 COVID-19 vaccine, Walgreens is prepared to offer the vaccine in states where we are able to do so,” said Brigid Sweeney, the company’s senior manager for media relations and issues management. “In accordance with FDA approval and state requirements, we will offer the vaccine to all adults ages 65 years and older, as well as to individuals under 65 who are at higher risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, as determined by the CDC.”

The FDA approved the updated vaccine on Wednesday for senior citizens, but limited its availability to younger Americans to patients with at least one existing high-risk health condition.

Previously, the federal policy recommended annual COVID-19 vaccine shots for anyone over six months old. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has worked to change that policy.

“The pandemic started and spread so rapidly under the first Trump administration,” Hashmi said. “Millions of deaths as a result of the lack of preparation and the lack of effective national response to the growing crisis. I’m terribly afraid that we’re going to see resurgence of the spread of COVID along with other preventable public health issues.”