The company has been administering vaccines at some of its locations in New Mexico and Arkansas in recent weeks. Now, Walmart (WMT)A spokesman for the company said in an email that the largest retailer in the country would expand the vaccine to select stores in New Jersey, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas, as well as in Chicago, and in Puerto Rico. Friday.
Each state determines which population groups are eligible to receive the vaccine, and the vaccine will only be available to designated groups at Walmart pharmacies. In Georgia, for example, adults aged 65 and over are currently eligible, but not essential workers.
“We are going according to what the state is telling us in terms of priority groups that they want to vaccinate our help,” a Walmart spokesman said.
The news, first reported by Reuters, comes as President Joe Biden and his government try to speed up the spread of vaccines. To date, more than 17 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to the latest CDC data. Biden has announced a goal to deliver 100 million shots in its first 100 days in office.
Pharmacies and grocery stores are expected to play an important role in the distribution of vaccines. The federal government has a partnership program with 19 pharmacy chains, retailers, and pharmacy associations across the United States, representing more than 40% of U.S. pharmacy locations.
Walmart (WMT) said in a blog post on Friday that they expect to be able to administer 10 to 13 million doses per month, “when the supply and allocation allow,” in more than 5,000 pharmacies in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Other chains also gave targets. CVS (CVS) said he eventually expects to be able to fire as many as 20 million to 25 million shots per month.