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Pharmacies To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries
To help with distribution, the federal government will tap retail pharmacies to receive COVID-19 vaccine deliveries. Under a new program, Covid-19 vaccines will arrive directly to pharmacies nationwide. Already, many chain drug stores administer vaccine doses assigned to states. The program expedites the process by arranging COVID-19 vaccine deliveries straight to the pharmacy.
RELATED: Trump: Coronavirus Vaccines Delivery To Start Next Week
New Pharmacy Initiative
The new initiative aims to expand access to vaccines and cover even more ground all over the US. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said the program will initially cover a million doses a week. This will then go straight to 6,500 pharmacies across the country. In addition, the program is separate from weekly vaccine shipments to states, which roughly take about 10.5 million doses. Similarly, the new pharmacy initiative is separate from ongoing arrangements with Walgreens and CVS to vaccinate long-term facility residents.
Meanwhile, the White House said that vaccinations through the new federal partnership with pharmacies will begin on February 11. “The Centers for Disease Control, which has quite a bit of experience working with pharmacies, is making sure that we are picking pharmacies in that first phase that are located in areas that are harder to reach to ensure that we have equitable distribution of the pharmacy doses,” Zients said.
Check Your Nearest Pharmacy for Vaccines
On February 11, Americans who wish to receive COVID-19 vaccination need to check their state’s eligibility requirements. Once cleared, they can check the nearest pharmacy for available doses and get their shots there. “[Pharmacy] sites are selected based on their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including socially vulnerable communities,” Zients noted. Also, he said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will monitor the site data for equity concerns.
CVS Health already announced they will start vaccinating eligible Americans beginning February 11 using the doses issued by the federal government. The pharmacy chain expects about 250,000 doses delivered to 330 stores in 11 states. This includes COVID-19 heavy states such as California, Texas, Virginia, and New York. Meanwhile, Walgreens committed to starting vaccinating eligible Americans the next day, February 12. If things work out as planned and the vaccination rates go up, the federal government will scale up the deliveries. “Eventually, as we're able to increase supply, up to 40,000 pharmacies nationwide could provide Covid-19 vaccinations,” Zients said.
Slight Increase in State Allocation
Zients also reported a slight increase in doses allocated per state, from 10 million a week to 10.5 million. Last week, the federal government announced a short-term increase in available supplies from 8.6 million doses to 10 million a week per state. Biotech firm Moderna reported significant progress in its manufacturing process. Consequently, the improvements made it possible to increase its COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the US government.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will note and fully reimburse states for emergency provisions related to COVID-19. This includes masks, gloves, National Guard deployments, and other costs, including those made during the start of the outbreak in January 2020. The funding will not require additional congressional scrutiny. Zients estimated the needed budget to deliver the doses between $3 to 5 billion.
COVID-19 By The Numbers
According to the latest numbers taken from the CDC website, there are a total of 26,160,210 cases in the United States. In addition, total COVID-19 deaths are now at 441,831. After recording the highest number of active cases (310,493) last January 08, both infection and deaths have steadily declined. However, the US remains a hotbed of coronavirus cases.
As of Tuesday, the federal government shipped around 50 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to states. Around 32.8 million doses have been administered to Americans, with over 26 million receiving their first dose while nearly 6 million getting the second dose.
Watch the MSNBC news video where Dr. Kavita Patel says that shipping vaccine doses directly to Pharmacies ‘will open up an incredible opportunity':
Loading ...Do you support the idea of tapping pharmacies to assist in inoculating Americans? Do you think it will help increase the vaccination rate and help her immunity? Let us know what you think of the latest plan to get the vaccines out. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
19 Comments
Your own pharmacy would be more organazied.
This setup to be injected is not a great idea.
Not tested enough for my satisfaction. Too much of a rush job. I don’t TRUST THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OR DEMOCRATS OR THE RINO TRAITORS!
rite aid .like the regular flue vacsine.
I do not plan to receive the vaccine. Definitely it was rushed to the market, not enough testing done. And I do not trust the people such as Fauci who stand to make big money off the vaccine. God help America!
I have experience with pharmacy Dr.s and it was less than adequate!
I would like to get my vaccine from Walgreen’s. My pharmacist knows me and my allergies very well and can have a eppi pen just in case I’m in need of one for the vaccine
Due to on going Health problems was advised not to get it, Rush Job by the Dems,depopulation agenda. At this time I Due not Trust The Government or Big Pharma .
Pharmacy is a good idea. They can administer the shot. Of course they will be trained on correct traction of needle.
I am a retired 43 yr Medical Lab Technologist and gave injections when needed for family and neighbor. No big deal. Folks it’s your choice to get vaccines or not, but seriously, it’s going to keep u and those around u safe. Have faith in our Living Savior to bring u to a better place.
They do Flu shots and Shingles shots, why not Covid-19 shots?
Yes it would be handy at our pharmacy but it could get very crowded due to small place unless they have appointment
It doesn’t matter where I get my shot as long as I get one
Why do some people have to make a covid shot political?
Democrats rushing? Who do you think started WARP SPEED?)
Too many controversies against the Democrats. The Republicans are the worst party ever organized and in my opinion are worthless. I will say Biden seems to have the horse by the reigns and is doing more with Covid 19 then stupid that just left office (dumb A–).
Biden is giving lip service to operation warp speed underway except for unorganized democratic governors. Its been over a year and they still aren’t ready when it comes. Watch all the news not just fake news. I do. Its easier to pick out the lies that way.
Do most pharmacies have the ability to freeze the vaccine appropriately? I don’t think so nor do they have the appropriate training too protect it until consumption.
I am 86 yrs old and would rather stay close to home to get the shot. I am unable to be in long lines for medical reasons.
I will gladly go to the pharmacy. I have been trying on line until my nerves give way. This is the most unorganized system we have had in many many years. Almost having to beg for the vaccine.
Do the math. one million doses, divided by 6,500 pharmacies equals 154 doses per pharmacy. So each pharmacy can vaccinate 154 additional persons per week.
Seems pretty lame to me.