Making an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine is hard enough, but for some people, that’s just the first of many challenges in the process. Many people are not lucky enough to own a car or live in a city where they can reach their vaccination appointment on foot or by public transport (if that’s an option they are comfortable with).
And even if they have friends, family, or neighbors who are only too happy to take them to their appointments under normal circumstances, some may politely (and guilty) decline out of concern about the virus and possible transmission.
Now some people in certain cities who get their vaccine at a Walgreens have another option: take it a free ride with Uber to their appointment. Here’s what you need to know about this new policy.
What you need to know about the program
Although this program was just announced on February 9, in December, Uber had dedicated up to 10 million free or discounted rides to help people meet their vaccination appointments. Now they are partnering with Walgreens on part of that, offering people a free ride to Walgreens stores (and their outside clinics) for their COVID vaccine appointment.
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Currently, a trial version of this program is available in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and El Paso, Texas, but it will eventually roll out to other cities – and it only applies to appointments at Walgreens. According to a statement from UberNearly 80% of the US population lives within five miles of a Walgreens pharmacy. (Of course, that doesn’t guarantee we’ll all get appointments there, but it’s an interesting / terrifying fact that we thought you might want to know.)
Uber and Walgreens are also getting help from the National Urban League to help identify the areas with the greatest transport barriers to access to vaccines.
How to Get a Free Uber Ride to Your Vaccination Appointment
So who can take advantage of this offer? It’s quite simple: they let you know. Once you have a confirmed appointment at a Walgreens and the free Uber ride is an option, you do too receive an email expand the offer to plan a ride.
It is still very early and there are many unanswered questions, including whether they also offer a free Uber ride home from a vaccination appointment at a Walgreens – but hopefully this will be part of a bigger trend to make sure everyone can get vaccinated.
Lyft recently announced some new tools people can use to book rides to and from vaccination appointments for their loved ones, but they are not free