“Millions of Americans turn to their local pharmacy every day for their medications, flu shots, and more. And pharmacies are easily accessible in most communities, with most Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy,” said the Covid-19- White House Response Coordinator. Jeff Zients said in a briefing.
The program, rolling out on Feb. 11, will start at approximately 6,500 stores that will receive a total of 1 million doses before eventually expanding, Zients said.
The government also announced that it will increase weekly vaccine allocation to states, tribes and territories by an additional 5%, bringing the weekly total of vaccines purchased per week to a minimum of 10.5 million.
And Zients said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would reimburse states in full for the eligible services they have provided since the pandemic began in January 2020. The reimbursements will include personal protective equipment and the mobilization of the National Guard, Zients said , who estimated the price. tag will be between $ 3-5 billion.
In his briefing, Zients tried to manage expectations for the pharmacy rollout. He said both vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna are ramping up production to provide the additional doses.
“In the early stages, many pharmacies across the country will not have a vaccine or have very limited supplies,” he said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working with states to select pharmacy locations, taking into account “their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for serious Covid-19 disease, including socially vulnerable communities” , says Zients. .
Administration officials informed representatives of major pharmacy chains on Tuesday before publicly announcing the plan.
The White House listed 21 national pharmacy chains that will participate in the early stages of the program, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid.
The plan to expand the availability of vaccines in pharmacies has been long in the works and was also an important part of the former Trump administration’s distribution plan. In some states, such as Maryland, those plans are underway and pharmacies have already begun to distribute vaccines.
Public health experts have said it is critical to expand locations Americans can visit to get vaccinated, both to streamline distribution efforts but also to make sure the vaccine is available to a greater portion of the population. public as vaccine inequalities emerge.
However, adding new sites for vaccinations will only alleviate part of the problem. Vaccine supply remains extremely limited and additional locations are likely to come as states are still clamoring for more doses.
Last month, the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, NBC News that early expansion into pharmacies wouldn’t mean every pharmacy anywhere.
“I don’t think we’ll get a vaccine in every pharmacy in this country by the end of February,” Walensky said.
CNN’s Jason Hoffman contributed to this report.