WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will begin sending coronavirus vaccines directly to retail pharmacies next week along with ongoing deliveries to states, increasing weekly gun supplies nationwide to 11.5 million, he said. say a senior councilor this Tuesday.
U.S. President COVID-19 response coordinator Joe Biden Jeff Zients said the program will launch on Feb. 11 and will make one million doses available to 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 has so far been a “sad failure” and pledged to increase the speed with which shots are fired at Americans, with a focus on ensuring access equitable regardless of their geography, race or ethnicity.
The Trump administration announced in November that it had partnered with 19 pharmacy chains and networks across the country, including CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., to begin distributing COVID-19 vaccines as they became available.
The federal government will distribute one million doses of vaccine to 6,500 stores next week, Zients said, adding that the number will grow over time.
That adds up to 10.5 million doses that the federal government plans to send weekly to states and territories over the next three weeks, he added.
“This will provide more places for people to get vaccinated in their communities,” Zients said, adding that supply restrictions will limit the program in its early days.
The initial locations of the pharmacies were selected to improve access to vaccines in hard-to-reach areas and among socially vulnerable communities, Zients said.
CVS said in a statement that its pharmacies will participate in the program. It will receive 250,000 doses directly from the federal government for its initial release, CVS said, adding that it has the capacity to provide 20 to 25 million doses a month in total.
Zients also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse states for some COVID-related costs they had incurred since the coronavirus outbreak began in the United States last January, such as the team of individual protection and the deployment of the national guard.
He said Congress does not need to approve funding for FEMA to do so and that total payments to states will be between $ 3,000 and $ 5 billion.
Zients added that the federal government has procured supplies of equipment that medical service providers need to get six doses of each vial of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. instead of five.
The Biden administration has said it is willing to use emergency powers during the war if necessary to secure specialized syringes with little dead space and other supplies needed to eliminate vaccine waste and improve efficiency. administration.
The severe winter storm that hit the east coast of the United States this week has not disrupted vaccine delivery, but has forced some vaccine administration sites to close or reduce operating hours, Zients said.