The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the US Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which allows a partnership between the federal government and pharmacies across the country to provide COVID-19 vaccines.
More than 6,500 pharmacies across the country will receive vaccines as of February 11 – but not all Florida stores will participate in the first distribution.
Publix
Publix will begin scheduling appointments on Wednesday, February 10, at 7 am on its online vaccination registration website.
Walmart and Sam’s Club
Walmart and Sam’s Club have confirmed that their pharmacies in Florida will start vaccinating people. The grocery giants have yet to disclose which stores will receive the doses.
“We hope to launch a complete list of stores involved in the implementation of the federal vaccine and how priority groups designated by the state can make an appointment in the coming weeks,” said Walmart / Sam’s Club spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson.
As for how many doses the stores will receive, this number is also not certain at the moment.
“Walmart is receiving funding from the federal government, but the offer is still limited,” said Thompson.
Pharmacies will schedule appointments based on how many doses they receive. Thompson said that consultations will increase as additional doses become available.
Once a store or club receives the allocation, online schedulers will be available to make appointments at walmart.com/COVIDvaccine and samsclub.com/covid.
In addition to the appointments, the scheduler will provide a digital reminder when the time comes to return for the second dose of the vaccine so that it is fully effective, Thompson said.
CVS and Walgreens
CVS and Walgreens confirmed that Florida is no part of next week’s distribution.
CVS is receiving 250,000 doses to distribute between 11 states. The pharmacy chain will expand to other states and increase the number of stores offering vaccines as more supplies become available, the company said.
The states included in the CVS distribution are: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Walgreens will begin vaccinating eligible individuals on February 12 in 15 states, not including Florida.
The states / cities included are: Chicago, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Winn Dixie and Fresco Y Mas
About 8,100 free Modern COVID-19 vaccines will begin to be administered at select locations in Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket in Florida this week.
Supermarket websites do not currently list which locations will receive the COVID-19 vaccines.
Those who are eligible will begin receiving vaccines on February 11 through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
Fresco y Más, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets will post information on their websites about details of vaccine availability, participating stores and scheduling appointments online, when available.
Costco
Costco declined to comment on whether Florida locations will offer the vaccine.
Who is eligible?
The federal government said pharmacies that receive the vaccine still need to follow state guidelines.
For Florida, this means that only those 65 and older and frontline healthcare professionals are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
As for the cost, the CDC reported that the vaccine is free for everyone.
For more information about the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership Program for Vaccination COVID-19, click here.