WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will begin delivering coronavirus vaccines directly to retail pharmacies next week, along with ongoing deliveries to states, increasing weekly supplies of photos nationwide to 11.5 million, it said. on Tuesday a top assistant.
US President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said the program will be launched on February 11 and will provide 1 million doses for 6,500 stores. As supply grows, the program could expand to 40,000 stores, he said.
Biden said last month that the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine had so far been a “negative failure” and promised to increase the speed with which it strikes Americans, with an emphasis on ensuring equitable access regardless of geography, race or ethnicity.
The Trump administration announced in November that it has partnered with 19 pharmacy chains and networks nationwide – including CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. – to begin distributing COVID-19 vaccines as they become available.
The federal government will distribute one million doses of vaccine to 6,500 stores next week, Zients said, adding that the amount will increase over time.
This adds to the 10.5 million doses that the federal government plans to deliver weekly to states and territories for the next three weeks, he added.
“This will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities,” Zients said, adding that supply constraints will limit the program in its early days.
The pharmacy’s initial locations were selected to improve access to vaccines in hard-to-reach areas and among socially vulnerable communities, Zients said.
CVS said in a press release that its pharmacies will participate in the program. It will receive 250,000 doses directly from the federal government for its initial launch, CVS said, adding that it has the capacity to deliver between 20 and 25 million doses per month in total.
Zients also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse states for some COVID-related costs they have incurred since the outbreak of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak in January last year, such as personal protective equipment and deployment of the National Guard.
He said Congress does not have to approve funding for FEMA to do so and that total payments to states will be between $ 3 billion and $ 5 billion.
Zients added that the federal government has purchased supplies of equipment, healthcare providers must receive six doses from each bottle of COVID-19 Pfizer Inc. vaccine, rather than five.
The Biden administration has stated that it is willing to use emergency powers during the war, if necessary, to provide specialized syringes with dead space and other supplies needed to eliminate vaccine waste and improve the efficiency of administration.
The major winter storm that hit the east coast of the United States this week did not disrupt vaccine deliveries, but forced some vaccine administration locations to close or reduce operating hours, Zients said.