- CVS stores in Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Ohio will now have vaccines available.
- About 570,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed in CVS pharmacies.
- Vaccine appointments for these doses will begin on February 25.
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Selected CVS pharmacies will offer approximately 570,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in 17 states, including the newly added states of Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Ohio, CVS Health said in a press release on Wednesday. .
Qualified people can make appointments from February 24 for those doses with injections from February 25, the company said. Doses will be provided through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, a plan that aims to increase access to the vaccine, in which more than 40,000 US pharmacies will receive doses of vaccine to offer qualified people free of charge from February 11 .
CVS has been offering vaccines to a limited extent in Ohio, since it relied on state allocations, but now that the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program has been activated in the state, the number of stores will increase as supply increases, said a spokesperson for the Insider.
Distribution of the vaccine in the CVS Health store initially began on February 12 in 11 states, including California, Hawaii, Texas, South Carolina, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. Pharmacy CVS can administer 20 to 25 million injections per month, according to the press release.
Sites were selected based on a number of factors, including the high SVI rating determined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index, population density and demographic data, according to the CVS.
“Feedback on every aspect of the vaccination process has been incredibly positive, from the digital experience to the interaction with our team of healthcare professionals,” said Karen S. Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health, in the press release. “We are also making significant progress towards reaching vulnerable communities, which will continue to be an essential part of our vaccination effort.”
The pharmaceutical company added that it will expand into other states as more supply becomes available. The spokesman declined to share future expansion plans with Insider at this time.
Last week, the drugstore chain said it administered more than three million COVID-19 vaccines and about 15 million COVID-19 tests across the country.
Separately, Walgreens is scheduled to receive a weekly distribution of more than 480,000 doses of vaccine as of February 25, the company announced last week. He also said that he has provided more than three million vaccinations in long-term facilities and vulnerable communities that are prioritized by the state.
As part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, Walgreens started vaccinating in stores in 17 states and administered about 180,000 doses of the first weekly distribution of the vaccine, the company said.