Michigan Representatives. concerned about the introduction of COVID vaccine into pharmacies

The White House has selected specific pharmacies in each state to receive and administer coronavirus vaccines to promote the distribution of vaccines.

In Michigan, the government has chosen Rite Aid pharmacies in addition to others – but some are wondering why they have not opted for larger chains such as CVS or Walgreens. The details of the deployment itself are not very promising if you ask local health officials about it.

See: What we know about the process of getting COVID-19 vaccine doses to pharmacies

‘Overall, 20,000 doses go to Ride Aid pharmacies – 200 stores across the state. It will therefore only leave 100 doses per store, ”said Andrew Cox, director of Macomb’s health department.

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The high demand, but the low supply of the coronavirus vaccine, is now affecting the federal government’s work to get pharmacies involved, such as Rite Aid.

Director Cox says when he looked at the details of the plan, it was amazing how few vaccine doses your local Rite Aid store actually gets.

“(The doses) are not going to go very far if you look at the population of Macomb – the third largest population of 870,000 people – it’s not a lot of vaccine to spend,” Cox said.

Macomb County is a large Michigan province with a large elderly and vulnerable adult population. This week, the state sent 1,000 fewer vaccine doses than expected.

‘It’s very disappointing that a community like New Haven, in my district, has a higher (social vulnerability index), just because they are north of Macomb County, people with the higher SVI factors are not as important as those in Wayne County, ”said Mr. Jeff Yaroch, Michigan, who represents the 33rd district of the state, said. “It’s very disappointing.”

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Related: Detroit Mayor Duggan meets with Biden Government to discuss COVID relief

Rep. Yaroch, who represents the Richmond area, says the formula the state uses to determine how many doses each country receives does not add up. Yaroch says he wants answers, but argues that the department of health and governor gives no answers.

Last week, the state of Macomb County gave approximately 7,300 doses of coronavirus vaccine. This week, 1,000 doses were given to the country less, which says it can handle 50,000 doses per week. Officials would rather know why they receive so little.

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