States, tribes and territories will receive a 5 percent increase in supply this week, and Americans will soon have easier access to vaccinations through local pharmacies
With the US having more than 26 million COVID-19 infections, President Biden has today taken additional steps to implement his comprehensive national strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These steps include increasing vaccine offerings to states, tribes and territories, and increasing funding for jurisdictions to convert vaccines into vaccines. And the president announced that starting next week, the first phase of the federal pharmacy program will begin and that select pharmacies across the country will offer vaccinations for their communities.
These new steps will help achieve the president’s goal of delivering 100 million injections in 100 days and expand access to vaccines for more Americans in the coming weeks.
The president is taking the following actions today:
Expand vaccine range: Building on last week’s announcement, starting this week, the Biden-Harris administration will increase the total weekly supply of vaccines to states, tribes and territories to 10.5 million doses nationwide. This is an increase of 22% since she took office on January 20. The administration is committed to maintaining this as the minimum supply level for the next three weeks, and we will continue to work with manufacturers to ramp up supply.
Launch of Phase One of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination: As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines, starting Feb. 11, those who qualify for the vaccine will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at select pharmacies across the country through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination. This program is a public-private partnership with 21 national pharmacy partners and networks of independent pharmacies representing more than 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide (see below). It is an important part of the government’s national strategy to expand equitable access to vaccines for the American public.
When the first phase of this program begins, selected pharmacies across the country will be provided with a limited supply of vaccines to vaccinate priority groups free of charge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with states to select initial pharmacy partners based on a number of factors, including their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for serious illness from COVID-19. Americans should check their pharmacy website to see if the vaccine is available as supply will be limited in the initial stages. More information is available at cdc.gov/covid19.
Increase State Refunds: Central to the Biden-Harris administration’s COVID-19 strategy is to ensure that states, tribes, territories and jurisdictions have the resources they need to defeat the virus. That is why President Biden on his second day in office ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse states in full for National Guard Personnel and emergency expenses. Today President Biden announces that the government will go one step further and retroactively reimburse states in full for FEMA-eligible services – including masks, gloves, emergency power supplies, shelter for populations at risk and mobilization of the National Guard – dated back to the pandemic will begin in January 2020. This fee is estimated to total $ 3-5 billion and is only a small fraction of the resources that states need to fight this pandemic – including for testing, genomic sequencing and mass vaccination centers. To fully support the needs of states, tribes and territories to control the pandemic and vaccinate their populations, President Biden is asking Congress for $ 350 billion in the US bailout.
Participating Federal Pharmacy Partners (not all will be active in every state in the initial phase)
Chain Pharmacies
Walgreens (including Duane Reade)
• CVS Pharmacy, Inc. (including Long’s)
• Walmart, Inc. (including Sam’s Club)
• Rite Aid Corp.
• The Kroger Co. (includes Kroger, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Ralphs, King Soopers, Smiths, City Market, Dillons, Mariano’s, Pick-n-Save, Copps, Metro Market)
• Publix Super Markets, Inc.
• Costco Wholesale Corp.
• Albertsons Companies, Inc. (including Osco, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Albertsons Market, Safeway, Tom Thumb, Star Market, Shaw’s, Haggen, Acme, Randalls, Carrs, Market Street, United, Vons, Pavilions, Amigos, Lucky’s, Pak n Save, Sav- On)
• Hy-Vee, Inc.
• Meijer Inc.
• HEB, LP
• Retail Business Services, LLC (including Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford Bros Co, Stop & Shop)
• Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (includes Winn-Dixie, Harveys, Fresco Y Mas)
Network administrators
• Topco Associates, LLC (including Acme Fresh Markets, Associated Food Stores, Big-Y Pharmacy and Wellness Center, Brookshire’s Pharmacy, Super One Pharmacy, FRESH by Brookshire’s Pharmacy, Coborn’s Pharmacy, Cash Wise Pharmacy, MarketPlace Pharmacy, Giant Eagle, Hartig Drug Company, King Kullen, Food City Pharmacy, Ingles Pharmacy, Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill Pharmacies, Save Mart Pharmacies, Lucky Pharmacies, SpartanNash, Price Chopper, Market 32, Tops Friendly Markets, ShopRite, Wegmans, Weis Markets, Inc.)
• CPESN USA, LLC
• GeriMed (long-term care and pharmacies)
• Good Neighbor Pharmacy and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation’s Pharmacy Services Administrative Organization (PSAO), Elevate Provider
• Health Mart Systems, Inc.
• Innovatix (pharmacies for long-term care)
• LeaderNET and Medicine Shoppe, Cardinal Health’s PSAOs
• Managed Health Care Associates (retail and long-term care pharmacies)
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