Publix Super Markets is collaborating with the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Emergency Management Division to administer about 15,000 doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine.
Publix of Lakeland, Florida, which announced distribution at a press event yesterday with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (click to view the video), said that coronavirus vaccination will be available initially for 65-year-old customers. or more at 22 pharmacies in Citrus, Hernando and Marion Counties.
“It is our privilege to work with Governor DeSantis as a distributor of this important vaccine. We are grateful to help protect the health and well-being of people at risk of serious coronavirus complications, ”said Dain Rusk, vice president of pharmacy at Publix, in a statement.
COVID-19 immunizations will be offered by appointment while supplies last, and Publix customers will be able to schedule a vaccination through the retailer’s online booking system at publix.com/covidvaccine starting tomorrow, January 7. Publix is scheduled to begin managing photos on January 8.
Each store can schedule about 120 daily vaccinations, according to Publix. Vaccines are provided free of charge, but the retailer said that customers must bring their insurance card and those who are not insured must present their driver’s license or Social Security number.
“We are looking forward to a time when everyone who wants a vaccination can get it,” added Rusk, who attended a press conference with DeSantis at the first Publix vaccination site in Ocala.
Publix COVID vaccine locations include three pharmacies in Citrus County (one in Crystal River, Homosassa and Inverness), eight in Hernando County (five in Spring Hill and one in Brooksville, Hernando and Weeki Wachee) and 11 in Marion County (nine in Ocala and one at Belleview and Dunnellon).
“As part of our ongoing efforts to increase vaccinations and put Florida senior citizens first, I am pleased to announce this innovative partnership with Publix,” said DeSantis. “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together, and the state of Florida thanks Publix for its willingness to step up and lend its infrastructure to this critical cause.”
DeSantis noted that the effort is a pilot program for Publix and Florida. The state is one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, with almost 1.4 million cases of COVID-19, more than 22,000 deaths from the virus and a current rate of test positivity of 8.45%, according to the Center for Coronavirus Resources at Johns Hopkins University.
“Our goal is to do this pilot project and we selected these three municipalities and these 22 pharmacies. But I made it clear to Publix that if we are able to do that – if it is efficient and people have a good response to that – my goal would be to work with them in all of their pharmacies, ”DeSantis told the press event inside the Publix pharmacy in Ocala.
Rusk told the governor that Publix operates 756 pharmacies in Florida. “Publix said that they could potentially take between 100 and 125 photos [per day] at each of these facilities, ”said DeSantis. “If you multiply that across the state, it’s an incredible force multiplier for our state vaccination efforts. It will be done in a way that is convenient for our older citizens, and I think it will make a big difference. “
Publix said it is also in communication with the other six states in its market area to provide COVID-19 vaccines as part of its distribution efforts. Overall, the food and drug retailer operates 1,264 stores, including more than 1,000 pharmacies, in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
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