Demand for coronavirus vaccines is outstripping supply in the federal retail pharmacy program for the United States. CNN finds that commitments are filling up quickly.
Many pharmacies have told CNN this week that they can receive and administer far more doses of vaccine than are arriving so far. Albertsons Companies Inc., a food company in the United States based in Boise, Idaho, is using less than 10% of its capacity, according to Albertsons spokesman Andrew Whelan.
“We have the capacity to administer 150,000 doses every day and we can receive about 90% more supplies in our network,” Whelan told CNN.
Hy-Vee, a supermarket chain in the Midwest, told CNN that it would be beneficial to have more doses of vaccine to administer to the public.
“Limited supply of the vaccine has been our biggest challenge,” said company spokeswoman Christina Gayman. “We would love to vaccinate every person who requests it, but the offer is still limited.”
Meanwhile, Meijer Inc. has administered 66,000 doses since mid-January, with an additional 30,000 anticipated this week, company representative Frank J. Guglielmi told CNN. Most doses were administered in Michigan, where Meijer is a state and federal partner for the vaccine.
“As for support, we just need more vaccines,” said Guglielmi.
Walgreens, one of the first pharmacies to start administering Covid-19 vaccines in December through a separate partnership with long-term care institutions, administered more than 3 million vaccines as of Monday, with a distribution of 180,000 doses per week through the federal program, company spokesman Kelli Teno told CNN.
“As we extend to broader populations, the demand for vaccines continues to outpace stock,” said Teno. “We share the nation’s enthusiasm for vaccinating people as quickly as possible, but patience is needed as the vaccine stock continues to grow in the coming weeks and months and we can vaccinate more communities.”