Federal and state officials are looking to regional pharmacies and supermarkets to help speed up the administration of Covid-19 vaccines amid slower-than-planned distribution.
Rite Aid Corp., Kroger Co., Stop & Shop Supermarket LLC and other retailers are being asked to intervene and provide vaccines to frontline employees and other vulnerable people. Although the schedule is weeks ahead of schedule, companies say they hope to test and troubleshoot protocols before distributing vaccines to the masses.
“We are getting calls just because of the need,” said Colleen Lindholz, president of the Kroger healthcare facility. South Carolina and Georgia officials contacted Kroger this week, and the company has been providing injections to healthcare professionals in its stores and sending staff to long-term facilities in Alaska, West Virginia, Texas and Arkansas.
Executives at Kroger and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., two of the largest retailers involved in the vaccine effort, expressed frustration over what they said was a slower-than-necessary implementation due to delays at the state and federal levels.
Kroger is also exploring ways to host major events in community centers and stadiums that would allow 600 to 800 people to be vaccinated at a time, Lindholz said. She added that the country’s largest grocery store owner could immunize large numbers of people if they had more access to vaccines.