Sept 4 (Reuters) - Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey

said Thursday the state had ordered insurers to cover vaccines

backed by its health department, even if the U.S. Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention issue narrower recommendations.

Insurers would no longer rely solely on CDC recommendations,

Healey said, making Massachusetts the first U.S. state to

guarantee insurance coverage for state-backed vaccines.

Insurers usually follow recommendations from the expert

panel at the CDC that advises on who should take FDA-approved

vaccines. The panel is next expected to meet on September 18 to

discuss the agency's COVID shot recommendations.

The state's move comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy

Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine campaigner, has moved quickly to

reshape U.S. health policy.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which like

the CDC falls under Kennedy's purview, limited its approval of

updated COVID-19 shots for under 65s to those with health risks,

raising questions about insurance coverage for younger people.

Kennedy in May said the U.S. no longer recommends routine

COVID-19 shots for healthy kids and pregnant women, prompting

medical organizations and several states to formulate their own

vaccine recommendations.

He was also confronted by three Senate Republicans on

Thursday with their concerns about vaccine policy as he appeared

before the Senate Finance Committee.

Healey also said the state had issued an order allowing

pharmacies to continue to provide COVID vaccines to

Massachusetts residents aged five and older, and would allow the

state health department to decide which routine vaccines

pharmacists can give in Massachusetts.

She said CVS and Walgreens had begun working to make vaccine

appointments available in Massachusetts as soon as possible.

Healey said Massachusetts would lead efforts to create a

public health collaboration with other states in New England and

across the Northeast, "focused on developing evidence-based

recommendations on vaccinations, disease surveillance, emergency

preparedness and supporting state public health labs".

On Wednesday, California, Oregon and Washington said they

have launched a new health alliance to provide unified vaccine

recommendations, which Hawaii joined on Thursday. Separately,

Florida announced plans to end all state vaccine mandates,

including for children to attend schools.

Colorado also said it will act quickly to ensure that all

Coloradans have access to updated COVID-19 vaccines.