States, tribes and territories will receive a 5% increase in supply this week, and Americans will soon have easier access to vaccination through local pharmacies
As the US exceeds 26 million COVID-19 infections, President Biden has taken additional steps today to implement its comprehensive National Strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These steps include increasing the supply of vaccines to states, tribes and territories and increasing funding for jurisdictions to help transform vaccines into vaccines. And the president announced that, starting next week, the first phase of the federal program of selected pharmacies and pharmacies across the country will begin to offer vaccines to their communities.
These new steps will help meet the president’s goal of giving 100 million injections in 100 days and expanding access to vaccines to more Americans in the coming weeks.
The president is taking the following actions today:
Expanding the supply of vaccines: Based on last week’s announcement, the Biden-Harris administration will increase the general and weekly supply of vaccines to states, tribes and territories to 10.5 million doses nationwide starting this week. This is a 22% increase since taking office on January 20. The government is committed to keeping it as the minimum supply level for the next three weeks and we will continue to work with manufacturers in their efforts to increase supply.
Launch of the first phase of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for Vaccination COVID-19: As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines, starting on February 11th, those eligible for the vaccine will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at select pharmacies across the country through the Federal Health Program. Retail pharmacies for COVID- 19 Vaccination. This program is a public-private partnership with 21 national pharmaceutical partners and independent pharmacy chains representing more than 40,000 pharmacies across the country (listed below). It is a key component of the government’s National Strategy to expand equitable access to vaccines for the American public.
With the launch of the first phase of this program, selected retail pharmacies across the country will receive limited supplies of vaccines to vaccinate priority groups at no cost. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with states to select initial pharmaceutical partners based on a number of factors, including their ability to reach some of the populations at greatest risk for serious COVID-19 disease. Americans should consult the pharmacy website to find out if the vaccine is available, as delivery will be limited in the initial phase. More information is available at cdc.gov/covid19.
Increasing refunds to states: The heart of the Biden-Harris administration’s COVID-19 National Strategy is to ensure that states, tribes, territories and jurisdictions have the resources they need to defeat the virus. That is why, on his second day in office, President Biden instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fully reimburse states for the cost of National Guard personnel and emergency costs. Today, President Biden is announcing that the government will go even further, retroactively reimbursing states for services eligible for FEMA – including masks, gloves, emergency food actions, shelter in at-risk populations and mobilization of the National Guard – dated from the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020. This reimbursement is estimated at $ 3-5 billion and is only a small part of the resources that states need to fight this pandemic – including for testing, genomic sequencing and mass vaccination centers. To fully support the needs of states, tribes and territories to contain the pandemic and vaccinate their populations, President Biden is requesting $ 350 billion from Congress in the American Rescue Plan.
Participating federal pharmacy partners (not all will be active in all states in the initial phase)
Pharmacy network
• Walgreens (including Duane Reade)
• CVS Pharmacy, Inc. (including Long’s)
• Walmart, Inc. (including Sam’s Club)
• Rite Aid Corp.
• The Kroger Co. (including Kroger, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Ralphs, King Soopers, Smiths, City Market, Dillons, Mariano’s, Pick-n-Save, Copps, Metro Market)
• Publix Super Markets, Inc.
• Costco Wholesale Corp.
• Albertsons Companies, Inc. (including Osco, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Albertsons Market, Safeway, Tom Thumb, Star Market, Shaw’s, Haggen, Acme, Randalls, Carrs, Market Street, United, Vons, Pavilions, Friends, Lucky’s, Pak n Save, Sav-On)
• Hy-Vee, Inc.
• Meijer Inc.
• HEB, LP
• Retail Business Services, LLC (including Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford Bros Co, Stop & Shop)
• Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (including Winn-Dixie, Harveys, Fresco Y Mas)
Network administrators
• Topco Associates, LLC (including Acme Fresh Markets, Associated Food Stores, Big-Y Pharmacy and Wellness Center, Brookshire’s Pharmacy, Super One Pharmacy, FRESH by Brookshire’s Pharmacy, Coborn’s Pharmacy, Cash Wise Pharmacy, MarketPlace Pharmacy, Giant Eagle, Hartig Drug Company, King Kullen, Food City Pharmacy, Ingles Pharmacy, Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill Pharmacies, Save Mart Pharmacies, Lucky Pharmacies, SpartanNash, Price Chopper, Market 32, Tops Friendly Markets, ShopRite, Wegmans, Weis Markets, Inc.)
• CPESN USA, LLC
• GeriMed (long term care and retail pharmacies)
• Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Services Administrative Organization (PSAO) from AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Elevate Provider
• Health Mart Systems, Inc.
• Innovatix (long-term pharmacies)
• LeaderNET and Medicine Shoppe, PSAOs of Cardinal Health
• Managed Health Care Associates (retail and long-term pharmacies)
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