NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday morning allowing New Yorkers to get a COVID-19 vaccine at pharmacies in the state without a prescription.

It comes after the federal government recently limited who can get a shot this year.

The Food and Drug Administration approved updated versions of the COVID vaccine, but authorized them only for people 65 and older or for people who have an underlying medical condition.

It prompted big pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to say they would issue the latest COVID vaccine if someone has a doctor’s prescription.

But Hochul said the executive order declares “a disaster in the state of New York due to federal actions related to vaccine access” and ensures access to the vaccine immediately.

“So you can go into a pharmacy, not have to worry about going to a doctor’s office and getting a prescription,” Hochul explained. “Pharmacists will now, as a result of this signing, be authorized to administer COVID shots to those who choose to have them.”

Hochul said the executive order must be renewed every 30 days. She said the state legislature will formalize a long term plan when the state legislature returns early next year.

The announcement is a reprieve for many New Yorkers, but it has also now sparked confusion.

The health care chaos was on full display Thursday at the U.S. Capitol, where Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, faced a withering inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee.

Medical groups and several Democrats in Congress have called for Kennedy to be fired, and his exchanges with Democratic senators on the panel repeatedly devolved into shouting, from both sides.

Some Republican senators also expressed unease with his changes to COVID-19 policies.