The Department of Health and Human Services will partner with thousands of pharmacies around the U.S. to make a COVID-19 vaccine widely available, the agency announced in a press release Thursday.

 

What You Need To Know

  • The Department of Health and Human Services will partner with thousands of pharmacies across the country to make a COVID-19 vaccine widely available

  • The list of pharmacies include large chains like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and Costco, plus grocery chains like Albertsons, Kroger and Publix

  • HHS will allow pharmacy interns and technicians to administer vaccines in order to increase staffing

  • HHS previously formed a pharmacy partnership earlier this year meant to aid in HIV prevention

 

HHS said the number of pharmacies signed on accounts for 60% of all locations nationwide, with sites available in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The list includes large chains like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, and Costco, plus grocery chains like Albertsons, Kroger, and Publix.

 

 

“We are leveraging the existing private sector infrastructure to get safe and effective vaccines supported by Operation Warp Speed into communities and into arms as quickly as possible with no out-of-pocket costs,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

In addition, HHS will allow pharmacy interns and technicians to administer vaccines in order to increase staffing, the agency announced last month.

HHS previously formed a pharmacy partnership earlier this year meant to aid in HIV prevention, and this new cooperation appears to be a continuation.  

“The vast majority of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, and our new agreement … is a critical step toward making sure all Americans have access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,” Azar said.

The partnership is part of Operation Warp Speed, a federal effort to quickly develop and distribute a vaccine that includes the Department of Defense and private companies.

Although no COVID-19 vaccine has been approved, the pharmacy partnership is “in anticipation that one or more COVID-19 vaccines will be ... recommended for use in the United States before the end of 2020,” the release read.