Some large U.S. pharmacies will not verify identification before administering COVID-19 vaccines

CHICAGO / NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many U.S. pharmacies, including those in Kroger Co supermarkets and the CVS Health Corp. pharmacy chain, say they will not check IDs before administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door is open to those who do not. follow state guidelines to skip the line.

Although the United States has distributed more than 30 million doses of vaccine, just over 11 million had been administered as of Thursday, a delay that led to U.S. Secretary of Health Alex Azar asked states to start vaccinating the most vulnerable vulnerable population and those with certain health conditions to get more arms vaccines.

U.S. retailers have the option to strictly enforce state eligibility rules with on-site identity checks or rely on an honor system that allows people to ignore these guidelines, but also inoculate more people.

“State and local guidelines vary by 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 grocery chain in the United States has so far administered some 7,800 COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers, residential staff and residences.

Twenty-two states have advanced toward the use of age as the primary criterion for prioritizing inoculations, and four more will follow next week. Others follow strict guidelines to ensure that the scarce supply of coronavirus vaccine was first for health workers, residents of residences and first aid.

Teachers and other “essential workers” are supposed to be those who follow the line as the distribution expands, but those who qualify as essential workers vary by state.

“We have no plans to apply for identification to receive a vaccine against COVID-19,” a CVS Health spokesman said. “These vaccines will only be for appointments in our stores and patients will have already passed an eligibility exam when they register to get an appointment on our website, through our app or by calling 1-800.” .

However, the accuracy of the information provided in selection tests conducted by some companies is not automatically checked at vaccination sites.

Walgreens Boots Alliance said it would follow state and local guidelines on how to verify 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 it may or may not request prior identification. let the shot be fired. . “So far, we haven’t had any problems,” a spokeswoman said.

The Stop & Shop supermarket, located in the northeastern United States, said it would check IDs or pay stubs if individual states indicated so. Publix Super Markets, which operates in Florida and other southeastern states, said people should provide “a proof of insurance and / or driver’s license or social security card.”

“ENTER THEIR ARMS”

In Washington DC, which relies on the Safeway and Giant Food pharmacy chains to administer vaccines, it is unclear who verifies the health worker status of people.

A district website that allows health care workers to register for a vaccine tells them that they will be verified through the job ID card or a letter from the employer during the appointment at the pharmacy.

But Giant Food, in a statement, said it was only checking the photo ID and insurance card of anyone who got an appointment through the district’s website.

A spokeswoman for the DC health department said the vaccination team would raise the issue with Giant Food. Albertsons Companies Inc, Safeway’s parent company, 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 guidance to the chronic underfunding of the U.S. health care system, with the ongoing pandemic straining resources.

Schaffner said the solution was to increase vaccine availability and hire more vaccinators.

“The more vaccines you have, the less you have to worry about prioritization,” Schaffner said. “We know it won’t be perfect, but who cares, we have to put them in our arms.”