Blue State Governors Rebel Against RFK, Jr.'s Vaccine Policies

Governor Whitmer joins her fellow Democratic Presidential Candidates Governors:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/17/michigan-governor-gretchen-whitmer-covid-19-vaccine-executive-directive-2025/86189628007/

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2025/09/17/file_attachments/3390509/ED%202025-7%20Access%20to%20COVID-19%20Vaccines.pdf

Gov. Whitmer issues executive directive easing access to COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan
By Kristen Jordan Shamus - September 17, 2025
Detroit Free Press

*    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Sept. 17 an executive directive to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines for Michiganders.
*    Whitmer instructed the state agencies to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are covered by health insurance plans, there is clear safety and efficacy data, and guidance about who should get the vaccine.

With rapidly changing federal vaccine policy and confusion about guidelines, eligibility and insurance coverage, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Wednesday, Sept. 17, that orders state agencies to identify and remove barriers that could hinder Michiganders' access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“Cold, flu, and COVID-19 season are upon us," Whitmer said in a statement. "We all have a role to play in keeping our communities safe and healthy. Today’s executive directive ensures Michiganders can get the COVID-19 vaccine if it’s right for them. According to medical experts, vaccines remain the most effective way to stay healthy."

Whitmer's directive instructs the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to:

*    Ensure health insurance plans under the regulatory authority of MDHHS and DIFS — including Medicaid and health plans in the individual, small group and large group markets — cover COVID-19 vaccines.
*    Issue clear, accessible guidance to pharmacists, health care providers, and to the public about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
*    Issue guidance instructing pharmacists and other health care providers to encourage COVID-19 vaccines, as well as to prescribe and administer them.
*    Identify, review, and remove other barriers to COVID-19 vaccine access.

It wasn't immediately clear exactly how those departments are to carry out the governor's directive.

Michigan joins a growing list of states where governors and public health leaders have improved access to COVID-19 vaccines as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. makes unprecedented and sweeping changes to the ways in which vaccines are recommended and reviewed nationally.

Kennedy announced in May that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children or pregnant women. And in August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed the labels on the vaccines, saying they should be given only to people older than 65 and to younger Americans with at least one preexisting health condition that puts them at high risk for severe disease with COVID-19.

Robert Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, testifies about his health care agenda before the Senate Committee on Finance in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2025.
He also fired Susan Monarez, the director of the CDC, following a dispute over vaccines, and dismissed all 17 members of an independent vaccine advisory panel that makes recommendations to the CDC. He replaced them with his own appointees, many of whom are vaccine skeptics.

Called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the newly picked members of the panel are scheduled to meet Sept. 18 and 19 to discuss the safety and efficacy of vaccines that protect people from measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, hepatitis B and COVID-19.

That has many worried about whether further limits could be placed on long-approved and recommended vaccines and whether ACIP could alter the childhood immunization schedule.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, an infectious disease specialist who also is the chief medical executive for MDHHS, told the Detroit Free Press in late August that the nation is in "uncharted waters" with Kennedy Jr. at the helm of public health.

Already, Bagdasarian and MDHHS broke with the CDC and recommended all Michiganders 6 months and older get updated COVID-19 vaccines this season.

"I want to point out that when CDC changed their language, this was not based on data or a new review of existing data," she said in a late August interview. "This was simply a language change. The data still has not changed. The data still supports the benefit of COVID vaccines over any kind of risk, especially for pregnant women, which was one of the populations that CDC changed some of their language around."

Michigan and other states are "now taking a stronger leadership role" and are issuing their own recommendations to align with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Whitmer's directive expanding COVID-19 vaccine access also comes as Michigan experiences a surge in coronavirus cases.

The CDC reported that the number of infections statewide were growing as of Sept. 9. WastewaterSCAN's dashboard shows high levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the wastewater nationally over the last 21 days, including in Michigan.

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2025/09/17/file_attachments/3390509/ED%202025-7%20Access%20to%20COVID-19%20Vaccines.pdf

EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE No. 2025-7

To: State Department Directors and Autonomous Agency Heads
From: Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Date: September 17, 2025
Re: Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

Routine vaccination promotes the health and safety of all Michiganders. When individuals in our state choose to get a COVID-19 vaccine, they protect themselves, their families and neighbors from illness, hospitalization and death. This important decision should be between a person and their healthcare provider.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians have all made evidence-based recommendations that make clear that vaccination remains a safe and effective means for protecting against COVID infection. These recommendations are consistent with prior guidance and reflect the scientific consensus regarding the safety and benefits of immunization.

In addition, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) continually reviews evidence on new and existing vaccines. This evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, have saved millions of lives, and have prevented tens of millions of hospitalizations in the U.S. The 2023–2024 vaccines reduced the risk of COVID-19-associated emergency room and urgent care visits by 65-70% for children in the first two months after vaccination.

It is imperative that all Michiganders who choose to be vaccinated continue to have access to these vaccines and that coverage under state-regulated health insurance policies remains available. Michiganders need evidence-based guidance on the safety and efficacy of COVID19 vaccines. Pharmacists and providers must be able to use their professional judgment and training to recommend and administer vaccines, consistent with their scope of practice.

Section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 vests the executive power of the State of Michigan in the governor.

Section 8 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 places each principal department under the supervision of the governor.

Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I direct the following:

1. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) must work collaboratively and take action to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are available to Michiganders who wish to access them, including, as appropriate:

a. Issuing clear, accessible guidance to providers, pharmacists, and the public regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for all appropriate populations;
b. Issuing clear, accessible guidance to providers and pharmacists to encourage prescribing and administering of COVID-19 vaccines,  here appropriate;
c. Identifying, reviewing, and removing barriers to vaccine access to ensure COVID-19 vaccines remain widely available in Michigan; and
d. Ensuring to the extent possible that all health insurance plans under MDHHS and DIFS regulatory authority - including Medicaid and insurance plans in the individual, small group, and large group markets - cover COVID19 vaccines.

2. All state departments and agencies must coordinate and cooperate with MDHHS, DIFS, and LARA in executing the duties outlined by this directive.

This directive is effective immediately.

Thank you for your cooperation in its implementation.
___________________________________
GRETCHEN WHITMER
GOVERNOR