Michigan representatives. worried about the launch of the COVID vaccine in pharmacies

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

In Michigan, the administration has selected Rite Aid pharmacies in addition to others – but some are wondering why larger chains like CVS or Walgreens have not been chosen. The details of the launch itself are not very promising when you ask local health officials.

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

“At the state level, 20,000 doses will go to Ride Aid pharmacies – 200 stores across the country. So, that will leave only 100 doses in the store, ”said Andrew Cox, director of the Macomb County Department of Health.

Ad

The high demand but low supply of the coronavirus vaccine now has a dramatic impact on the federal government’s work to involve pharmacies such as Rite Aid.

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

“These doses won’t go too far when you look at the populations in Macomb – the third largest population of 870,000 people – it’s not a lot of vaccines to give,” Cox said.

Macomb County is a large county in Michigan, with a large and vulnerable adult population. This week, the state sent 1,000 doses of vaccine less than expected.

“It’s very disappointing that a community like New Haven, in my district, which has a higher social vulnerability index, just because it’s north of Macomb County, people with these higher IAS factors aren’t as important. like those in Wayne County, ”said Michigan Representative Jeff Yaroch, who is the state’s 33rd district. “It’s very disappointing.”

Ad

Related: Detroit Mayor Duggan meets with Biden administration to discuss COVID support

Rep. Yaroch, who represents the Richmond area, says the formula the state uses to determine how many doses each county receives is not added. Yaroch says he wants answers, but says the state health department and the governor don’t give any.

Last week, the state gave Macomb County about 7,300 doses of coronavirus vaccine. This week, 1,000 fewer doses were administered to the county, which says it can manage 50,000 doses per week. Instead, officials want to know why they receive so few.

---

Read more