CHICAGO v NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many US pharmacies, including those in Kroger Co supermarkets and the CVS Health Corp pharmacy chain, say they will not verify IDs before administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door open for those who do not meet guidelines for states to cross the line.
While the United States has distributed more than 30 million doses of vaccine, just over 11 million have been administered since Thursday, a gap that has led U.S. Secretary of Health Alex Azar to call on states to begin vaccinating the vulnerable elderly population and those with certain chronic problems. health conditions to get more vaccines in the arms.
U.S. retailers face a choice to strictly enforce state eligibility rules through on-the-spot identity checks or rely on an honor system that could allow people to ignore these guidelines but also to inoculate. more people.
“State and local guidelines vary between the 40 public health jurisdictions we serve, but in most cases, identification will not be required to receive the vaccine,” a Kroger spokeswoman said. The largest food chain in the United States has so far administered about 7,800 COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers and nursing home staff and residents.
Twenty-two states have opted to use age as the main criterion for prioritizing inoculations, to be followed by another four next week. Others follow strict guidelines to ensure that the supply of rare coronavirus vaccines goes first to health care workers, nursing home residents, and those receiving a response.
Teachers and other “essential workers” should be among those who follow in line, as the distribution expands, but who qualifies as an essential worker varies by state.
“We do not intend to ask for ID to receive a COVID-19 vaccination,” said a CVS Health spokesman. “These vaccinations will only be for appointment in our stores, and patients will have already gone through an eligibility screening when they register for an appointment on our website, through our application or through a number 1- 800. ”
However, the accuracy of the information provided in the eligibility examinations carried out by some companies is not automatically verified at the vaccination sites.
Walgreens Boots Alliance said it will follow state and local instructions on how to check eligibility.
Hy-Vee, which operates grocery stores and pharmacies in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin and other Midwestern states, said it has included its own warning on its website that the ID may – or may not – be requested before granting the shot. . “So far, I have not had any problems,” a spokeswoman said.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket, located in the northeastern United States, said it would check IDs or pay buttons if requested by each state. Publix Super Markets, which operates in Florida and other southeastern states, said people should provide “proof of insurance and / or a driver’s license or social security card.”
“TAKE THEM IN THEIR ARMS”
In Washington DC, which relies on Safeway and Giant Food pharmacy chains to administer vaccines, it is unclear who verifies health worker status.
A district website that allows health care workers to register for a vaccine tells them they will be checked using a work ID or a letter from the employer during pharmacy appointments.
But Giant Food, in a statement, said it was just checking the photo ID and insurance card of anyone who secured a meeting through the district’s website.
A spokeswoman for the DC health department said the vaccination team would raise the issue of Giant Food. Father Safeway Albertsons Companies Inc did not respond to requests for comment.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, attributed the lack of divergent local planning and direction to the chronic underfunding of the U.S. health care system with the ongoing resource pandemic.
Schaffner said the solution is to increase the availability of vaccines and hire more vaccinators.
“The more vaccines you have, the less you have to worry about setting priorities,” Schaffner said. “We know it won’t be perfect, but who cares, we have to take them in our arms.”
Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago, Tina Bellon in New York and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bangalore; Editing by Joe White, Ed Tobin and Bill Berkrot