The demand for coronavirus vaccines exceeds the supply of the federal retail pharmacy program for the United States. CNN finds that appointments are filling up quickly.
Many pharmacies told CNN Week that they can receive and administer far more doses of the vaccine than they have so far. Albertsons Companies Inc., an American food company based in Boise, Idaho, uses less than 10% of its capacity, according to Albertsons spokesman Andrew Whelan.
“We have the capacity to deliver 150,000 doses every day and we can take about 90% more supply into our network,” Whelan told CNN.
Hy-Vee, a Midwest supermarket chain, told CNN that it would be beneficial to have more doses of the vaccine for the public.
“Limited supply of the vaccine has been our biggest challenge,” said company spokeswoman Christina Gayman. “We would like to vaccinate every person who asks, but the supply is still limited.”
Meanwhile, Meijer Inc. administered 66,000 doses since mid-January, with an additional 30,000 anticipated this week, company spokesman Frank J. Guglielmi told CNN. Most doses have been given in Michigan, where Meijer is both a state and federal vaccine partner.
“In terms of support, we just need more vaccines,” Guglielmi said.
Walgreens, one of the first pharmacies to start administering Covid-19 vaccines in December through a separate partnership with long-term care facilities, has delivered more than 3 million vaccines since Monday, with an allocation of 180,000 doses per week. through the federal program. , company spokesman Kelli Teno told CNN.
As we release larger populations, demand for the vaccine continued to exceed inventory, Teno said. “We share the nation’s enthusiasm for vaccinating people as soon as possible, but patience is needed as the vaccine inventory continues to build in the coming weeks and months and we will be able to vaccinate more communities.