The Biden government will begin sending COVID-19 vaccines directly to U.S. pharmacies next week, boosting immunizations as new and potentially more serious variants appear, the White House said on Tuesday.
Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president’s task force COVID-19, said some 6,500 retail pharmacies across the country will receive a total of one million doses.
The pharmacy program will be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and includes major establishments such as CVS Health. Walgreens Co, Walmart Inc, Rite Aid Co and Costco Wholesale, as well as supermarket pharmacies.
The number of participating pharmacies is expected to grow as manufacturers increase production, allowing more doses to be allocated – and the program is separate from the one that uses pharmacies to vaccinate nursing home residents.
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, ‘Zients told reporters, stressing that due to supply restrictions, initial availability will be limited.
Zients also announced a 5% 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.
On February 11, the Biden administration will begin sending one million coronavirus vaccines to 6,500 pharmacies across the country. Pictured: Pharmacist John Forbes gives the Modern GOVID-19 vaccine to Meghan Bohlander, an attending physician, at Medicap Pharmacy in Urbandale, Iowa, January 2021
The White House announced a 5% increase in doses sent to states, in addition to the 16% announced last week, to a total of 10.5 million doses in all jurisdictions, to increase the rate of daily vaccinations
So far, 26 million Americans have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and more than 6 million at least two doses
So far, the federal government has shipped more than 52 million vaccines, with 46 receiving at least one dose and more than six million at least two doses.
A priority will be to bring the vaccine to minority communities that have suffered a disproportionately high number of illnesses and deaths caused by the virus, said Zeints.
The partnership with pharmacies was originally announced by the Trump administration last November, although no vaccine was approved at the time.
CVS plans to start offering vaccines from doses that arrive on the first day, February 11
The pharmacy expects 250,000 doses to reach 330 stores in 11 states, such as California and New York, Politico said.
Meanwhile, Walgreens said it will begin administering the doses the day after the shipments arrive, Feb. 12.
‘Eventually, as we can increase the supply, up to 40,000 pharmacies across the country could supply Covid-19 vaccines,’ said Zients.
The one 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 (FEMA).
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.
CDC data shows that so far 52 million doses have been sent
Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president’s task force COVID-19, also said that states will also receive $ 3 billion to $ 5 billion to retroactively cover costs, such as protective equipment for healthcare professionals. In the photo: Zients speaks at a press conference, December 2020
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.
And, since launching in December, chains like CVS and Walgreens 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.
Officials say the race to increase vaccination is vital, with variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil spread across the county
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 United States with a total of at least 482 cases.
The vaccine is free for Americans, thanks to legislation passed by Congress.
More than 60 percent of the doses distributed have been administered so far, a marked improvement over just a few weeks ago.
Even with the heavy snowstorm that hit the Northeast, Zients said that ‘all vaccines are available to states on schedule’.
But he acknowledged that some vaccination centers had to temporarily close due to the weather.