Biden’s administration will begin sending COVID-19 vaccines directly to US pharmacies next week, increasing vaccinations as new and possibly more serious variants appear, the White House said on Tuesday.
Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president’s task force COVID-19, said about 6,500 retail pharmacies across the country would receive a total of one million doses.
The pharmacy program is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contains important outlets 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 drug manufacturers increase production, allowing more doses to be allocated – and the program is separate from those used by pharmacies to vaccinate nursing home residents.
Pharmacies have become a mainstay for vaccination against flu and shingles, and the industry is able to vaccinate millions of people every month.
It will provide more sites for people to be vaccinated in their communities, ‘Zients told reporters, stressing that initial availability would be curtailed due to supply constraints.
Zients also announced a five percent increase in doses sent by the government to states, territories and some major metropolitan areas.
It will now amount to 10.5 million doses in all jurisdictions, compared to 10 million announced last week.
On February 11, the Biden administration begins one million coronavirus vaccinations to 6,500 pharmacies across the country. Pictured: Pharmacist John Forbes Gives the Modern GOVID-19 Vaccine to Meghan Bohlander, a Medical Assistant, at Medicap Pharmacy in Urbandale, Iowa, January 2021
White House announced a 5% increase in doses sent to countries, in addition to the 16% announced last week for a total of 10.5 million doses in all jurisdictions, increasing daily vaccinations
To date, 26 million Americans have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine and more than 6 million at least two doses
To date, 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 an excessive amount of diseases and deaths due to the virus, Zeints said.
The partnership with drug stores was originally announced by the Trump administration last November, although no vaccines were approved at the time.
CVS plans to offer vaccinations from doses arriving on the first day, 11 February
The pharmacy expects 250,000 doses to arrive at 330 stores in 11 states such as California and New York, reports Politico.
Meanwhile, Walgreens said it will begin administering doses the day after the shipment arrives on February 12.
“Eventually, up to 40,000 pharmacies nationwide could deliver Covid-19 vaccinations, as we could increase supply,” Zients said.
The one million doses sent to pharmacies are in addition to the 10.5 million doses allocated to states per week.
The White House has also acted to help pay states for their efforts to respond to pandemics.
Zients said the federal government will make $ 3 to $ 5 billion available to states to retroactively cover certain costs that are eligible through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
This can range from protective equipment for health workers, using their national guards to setting up community food programs. State costs from last January will now be eligible for compensation.
But Zients said states need much more financial assistance from Washington, pointing out that Biden’s U.S. bailout plan legislation is asking $ 350 billion for countries. The counter-offer that a group of Republican senators advanced over the weekend omits the line item.
Data from the CDC show that 52 million doses have been sent so far
Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president’s COVID-19 task force, also said states would also receive $ 3 to $ 5 billion to cover costs retrospectively such as health care protective equipment. Pictured: Zients addresses a news conference, December 2020
Some local jurisdictions have started offering vaccinations at drug stores, but in most places this is not the case. The signs on the front door of the pharmacy say that no vaccine is available yet.
The two currently approved vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, require special refrigeration.
Since rolling out in December, chains such as CVS and Walgreens have gained experience with the special handling requirements.
The Food and Drug Administration will soon weigh in on the approval of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a single-use regimen requiring only standard refrigeration.
The world in general is rushing the virus to vaccinate as many people as possible. Worrying mutations have been identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
Officials say the vaccination race is crucial as variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil spread across the country
The British variant spreads more easily and has a greater probability of fatal diseases. The South African variant may slightly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. All three mutations have been identified in the US 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 distributed doses have been administered so far, a noticeable improvement from a few weeks ago.
Even with the massive snowstorm that hit the Northeast, Zients said “all vaccine was available to states according to schedule.”
But he acknowledged that some vaccination centers had to close temporarily due to the weather.