HARRISBURG — Pharmacies in Pennsylvania are now able to offer COVID-19 vaccines, but that doesn’t mean everyone who wants a shot will be able to get one at these health care stores.

At the behest of Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration, the State Board of Pharmacy gave pharmacists the OK to administer immunizations for the virus based on guidelines from additional “competent authorities,” including the federal Food and Drug Administration and major medical associations. However, these guidelines provide different levels of access, and experts say it’s now up to pharmacies to decide which recommendations to follow.

Under the Trump administration, the FDA has narrowed eligibility to adults over 64 and others with underlying health conditions. It previously said anyone over 6 months was eligible, guidance that groups like the American Academy of Family Physicians are still embracing. Here’s what you need to know about the vote, who can get a shot, and more:

What’s the issue?
In Pennsylvania, state law ties the ability of pharmacists to provide vaccines to recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). That’s become a problem in recent months.

ACIP “develops recommendations on how to use vaccines to control disease in the United States,” according to the CDC. Those recommendations became official policy once adopted by the director of the CDC. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all members of ACIP in early June, and the committee has not voted on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for this fall, when the flu and respiratory illnesses tend to increase.