The launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program last week gives Americans the opportunity to vaccinate closer to home, while stores offer the opportunity to increase profits – as long as appointments and doses are available and the sites work.
The program, which was established under the Trump administration but was not implemented until President Joe Biden took office, delivers doses of vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna directly to pharmacies experienced in the national vaccine distribution.
“It was pretty easy to plan an appointment, and when we got in here it was very well organized,” Ken Hewitt of Middletown, Connecticut, told NBC News on Friday after receiving his first shot at CVS. “They booked us in at the front door.”
Jim Thompson, a 71-year-old retired principal in Penfield, New York, also praised customer service at CVS.
“It was well done, very well done,” Thompson said. “Especially for an older man they took time, they were patient and very friendly.”
Employees helped him through the entire process, including showing him how to scan a QR code to fill out a preliminary questionnaire and set him up for text reminders about his second dose appointment.
The new program has already sent 1 million new doses to retail pharmacies, in addition to the amount already received from any government grant. About 6,500 stores have been added.
CVS, Walgreens and independent pharmacies plan to add more capacity as more doses become available. So far, the demand far exceeds the supply.
Appointments are fully booked in 17 of the 18 countries where CVS offers vaccinations, according to the website Thursday.
Walgreens has administered all the doses since its first award, a spokesman said Tuesday and is on track to receive 180,000 doses per week.
While the launch is largely an opportunity to serve the public during a national health crisis, there is also a financial head.
“It delivers extra foot traffic to the store, and these individuals are going to buy other items,” Charles Lindsey, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Buffalo School of Management, told NBC News.
The Jefferies Investment Bank has estimated that CVS ‘involvement in vaccination efforts could bring the company about $ 1 billion in incremental gross profits next year, CNBC reported last month.
However, the huge demand for the shots and technical errors on the dating sites means that some Americans find it difficult to discuss their vaccination.
Allison McLean, a remote worker from Grand Island, New York, said she tried to book appointments at Walgreens for her in-laws for a full day, but could not because no second dose slots were available and both had to be booked at the same time. . .
“I had it on my screen most of the day, but people do not have that much time to sit and wait,” she told NBC News.
Technical shortcomings have hampered avid shot seekers from Colorado to Ohio to Florida to New Jersey. In Cleveland, Walgreens wrongly canceled appointments for hundreds. In Colorado, some customers could not book both appointments at the same time. Some customers who live near state borders in Massachusetts have found that the CVS website only allows them to book an appointment by crossing state lines, which is not allowed. The retailers said they are working on the technical hiccup.
Mike DeAngelis, spokesperson for CVS, said in an email that the vaccination vaccination was filling up quickly due to the limited stock we received and that more will open as soon as we receive more vaccination. Walgreens did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.