CVS adding 15,000 flu-, covid-aid jobs
The U.S. pandemic is opening up jobs in at least one marketplace, with CVS Health Corp. announcing it will hire about 15,000 workers to help with flu season, coronavirus testing and possibly administering covid-19 vaccines.
Two-thirds of the new hires will be pharmacy technicians, the company said Monday. The announcement comes a month after the the Department of Health and Human Services authorized state-licensed pharmacists to order and administer covid-19 vaccines to people ages 3 or older, subject to certain requirements.
“We’re estimating a much greater need for trained pharmacy technicians this year given the continued presence of covid-19 in our communities,” CVS Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Bisaccia said in a statement.
On Friday, CVS and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. were approved by the Department of Health and Human Services to give covid-19 shots to residents and workers at U.S. nursing homes.
The shots will be free to the facilities, the department said in a release. Operators will choose which pharmacy they prefer to work with and will coordinate directly with
them. Each chain boasts more than 9,000 locations across the country.
Residents and employees of long-term care facilities are supposed to be among the first vaccinated because the novel coronavirus is especially dangerous in these settings. About 42% of U.S. coronavirus deaths have occurred among nursing home and assisted living resi
dents, according to one estimate.
CVS has hired more than 76,000 people since March, a spokesman said. Retailers such as Walgreens, Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. have also hired thousands of people to meet pandemic demand.
Currently no covid-19 vaccines have been authorized or approved by the U.S Food
and Drug Administration or recommended for use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The CVS-Walgreens Pharmacy Partnership for Longterm Care Program is being established in anticipation that one or more will be available before the end of the year.