Pharmacy plan might be key to fast rollout
Retail pharmacies will bring more COVID-19 vaccines to Houston and across the country following a boost by the Biden administration to increase distribution to the public.
CVS Health will roll out 38,000 COVID-19 vaccines to 70 Texas locations starting Feb. 11; a CVS spokesperson said they are still determining how many Houston locations will be part of the initial distribution. People who fall under the state’s 1A and 1B eligibility criteria will be able to make an appointment.
The pharmacy giant is setting up online and phone systems to book a time slot for the first dose. To register, eligible people can visit CVS.com or call 800-746-7287.
“Vaccinations will be by appointment-only and we want to
encourage eligible patients to use our online scheduling tool to find a location that is convenient for them to access,” said Monica Prinzing, a CVS spokesperson.
People can book appointments starting Feb. 9, Prinzing said.
CVS Health was one of several retail pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite-Aid, named in a federal partnership to administer the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to the public. Since December, the company has vaccinated almost 2 million residents and staff at nearly 8,000 long-term care facilities nationwide.
The CVS announcement comes as the Biden administration pledges to broaden vaccine access. Federal officials will ship 1 million doses per week at the beginning of the program, which could be administered as soon as next week, POLITICO reported.
Federal and state officials have come under fire for vaccine rollout as distribution lags. More than 26 million people — less than 10 percent of the U.S. population — have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 1.9 million of whom are in Texas.
Pharmacies could be key to speeding up vaccine rollout. Patients already rely on them to pick up prescription drugs and receive flu and shingles vaccines, and may keep their local pharmacy in mind when it comes to obtaining a COVID-19 shot.
As of 2015, there are approximately 67,000 pharmacies in the U.S., according to the science journal PLOS One.
“You have pharmacies on every corner in the country,” said Dr. Asim Abu-Baker, associate dean for clinical and professional affairs at Texas A&M’s College of Pharmacy. “They’re used to handling the public’s questions and giving flu vaccines, while it’s a bottleneck to try and get into a hospital.”
Texas is one of 11 states in which CVS will roll out COVID-19 vaccination to the public.
“One of our greatest strengths as a company is our presence in communities across the country, which makes us an ideal partner for administering vaccines in a safe, convenient, and familiar manner,” Karen S. Lynch, CEO of CVS Health, said in a statement.
Public health officials and independent doctors have expressed frustration over Texas’ decision to direct most of its vaccines to hospital systems. One in five Texans lack health insurance, according to federal data, and that hinders the chances they regularly see a primary care doctor who can sign them up for an appointment at a vaccine hub.
The move by federal officials to bring more vaccines to pharmacies increases the chances for people to get the vaccine, said Dr. Julianna Fernandez, vice chair of the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research.
“It really opens the doors to so many patients that would not be connected with a health care system,” Fernandez said.
Other pharmacies, including H-E-B and Kroger, are in the process of setting up portals for the public to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations.