Michigan representatives. concerned about the deployment of COVID vaccines in pharmacies

The White House has selected state-specific pharmacies to receive and administer coronavirus vaccines to help increase vaccine distribution.

In Michigan, the administration selected Rite Aid pharmacies in addition to others, but some wonder why larger chains like CVS or Walgreens were not chosen. The details of the launch itself are not very promising when asked by local health officials.

See: What do we know about the process of getting COVID-19 vaccine doses in pharmacies?

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

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High demand but low supply of the coronavirus vaccine now drastically affects the federal government’s task of involving pharmacies, such as Rite Aid.

Director Cox says that when he examined the details of the plan, it was amazing how many vaccines your local Rite Aid store will actually get.

“(These doses) won’t go very far, if you look at the populations of Macomb (the third largest population of 870,000 people), it’s not a lot of vaccine to administer,” Cox said.

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

“It’s very disappointing that a community like New Haven, in my district, that has a higher rate of social vulnerability, just because they’re in northern Macomb County, the people with these higher SVI factors aren’t as important as those in Wayne County, ”said Michigan Representative Jeff Yaroch, who represents the state’s 33rd district. “That’s very disappointing.”

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

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

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

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