WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden government will begin sending COVID-19 vaccines to U.S. pharmacies next week, increasing vaccinations as potentially more serious strains of viruses are appearing, the White House said on Tuesday.
Coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said that about 6,500 pharmacies across the country will receive a total of 1 million doses of the vaccine. The number of participating pharmacies is expected to grow as manufacturers increase production, allowing more doses to be distributed.
Drugstores have become a mainstay for flu and herpes zoster vaccines, and the industry is able to vaccinate tens of millions of people each month.
“This will provide more places for people to be vaccinated in their communities,” said Zients, noting that, due to supply restrictions, initial availability will be limited. A priority will be to bring the vaccine to minority communities that have suffered a disproportionately high number of illnesses and deaths from the virus, he said.
The partnership with drugstores was originally announced by the Trump administration last November. At that time, no coronavirus vaccine had been approved. The pharmacy program will be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes the main points of sale, such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid and Costco, in addition to supermarket pharmacies
Zients also announced an increase in the doses the government is sending to states, territories and some major metropolitan areas. This will now total 10.5 million doses in all jurisdictions, up from the 10 million doses announced last week.
The 1 million doses sent to pharmacies will be added to the 10.5 million doses distributed to the states per week.
The White House has also taken steps to help states pay for their pandemic response efforts. Zients said the federal government will make $ 3 billion to $ 5 billion available to states to retroactively cover certain costs eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This can range from protective equipment for healthcare professionals to the sending of their National Guards and the establishment of community feeding programs. State expenses from last January will now be eligible for reimbursement.
But Zients said the states needed far more financial assistance from Washington, pointing out that the Biden’s American Rescue Plan legislation requires $ 350 billion for states. The counter offer that a group of Republican senators advanced over the weekend omits that item.
When fully implemented, the partnership with pharmacies will enroll some 40,000 drugstores across the country, said Zients, or about six times as many locations as participants in the initial launch. Some local jurisdictions have started offering vaccinations at drugstores, but in most places this is not the case. Signs on pharmacy doors indicate that the vaccine is not yet available.
The two currently approved vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, require special refrigerated storage. But chains like CVS and Walgreens, which already participate in a program to vaccinate nursing home residents, have gained experience with special handling requirements.
The Food and Drug Administration will soon be evaluating the approval of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a single dose regimen that requires only standard refrigeration.
The world at large is in a race with the virus to vaccinate as many people as possible. Concerning mutations have been identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. The UK variant spreads more easily and carries a greater likelihood of fatal illness. The South African variant may slightly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. All three mutations have been identified in the USA
The vaccine is free for Americans, thanks to legislation passed by Congress. To date, the government has distributed nearly 50 million doses, of which about 32 million have been administered, or more than 60%. It is a significant improvement over just a few weeks ago.
Even with the heavy snowstorm that hit the Northeast, Zients said that “all vaccines were made available to the states on schedule”. But he acknowledged that some vaccination centers had to temporarily close due to the weather.