Grocery Stores and Pharmacies to Rollout COVID-19 Vaccines

Retailer stores in America - CVS Health Corp., Walgreens-Boots Alliance Inc., Walmart Inc., and Kroger Co. - are preparing to take a central role in administering Covid-19 shots. They are hoping to avoid logjams and other complications that haveslowed the vaccination process.

Though vaccines remain in short supply, they are more broadly available in some states. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention aims to make them available in local pharmacies beginning next month. The above mentioned retail pharmacies report that they are prepared to give 10 million shots per month.

"We're going to have to look at ways to increase our access points. We've got to be able to step up the pace to vaccinate people across the country if we want to make a dent in this," said Bart Buxton, co-chair of the Covid-19 vaccine taskforce.

A hospital system from Flint-Michigan teamed with Walgreens to innoculate its 26,000 employees as part of the first vaccinations phase.

Pharmacies are among the most accessible health-care providers for many Americans. They believe that they can draw from their experience in providing shots for illnesses like flu and shingles.

CVS and Walgreens together have 19,000 U.S. stores. Walmart, Rite Aid Corp., Kroger, and Publix Super Markets Inc., combined have 11,000 locations. All these excluding their grocery store counters.

CVS claims to vaccinate 20 million to 25 million people a month once supplies are available. Walmart said from January it would be able to vaccinate 10 million to 13 million a month.

According to CDC, 27.9 million shots have been administered out of 49.2 million shots distributed since mid-December. Drugstore chains and retailer pharmacies claim to have the workforce and physical space to handle mass vaccinations. Big chains say that they will be capable of handling an influx of appointments with their online scheduling tools.

Walgreens plans to hire about 25,000 people across the U.S. to administer the vaccine. It currently employs 75,000 pharmacists and technicians. CVS, with 34,000 pharmacists and 65,000 technicians, declined to comment on this.

Associated Food Stores is a cooperative of more than 400 supermarkets and nearly 40 pharmacies. According to Chris Sheard, pharmacy operations director at the company, scheduling has been an area of focus. They are now asking customers to schedule appointments for Covid-19 vaccines to ensure proper distancing and cleaning.

Others are looking for large spaces to give vaccine shots and are partnering with organizations to set up mass vaccination events.

Hy-Vee plans to use greenhouses, as they are temperature-controlled and suitable for larger groups. The retailer also started testing waiting pods for customers to wait after receiving vaccinations and R.V.s with exam rooms.

Immunize Nevada is a nonprofit organization that has set up a website to schedule appointments in the state. America Davis, communications coordinator, said that mass vaccinations would need a robust online booking system. Their website has been scrambling to keep the site working amid crushing demand.

She adds, "Health and local officials are working around the clock to be sure we're doing this right. don't think anyone anticipated just what the uptake of this vaccine would be."

Source-Medindia