“Millions of Americans turn to their local population every day for their medications, flu shots, and much more. And they are readily available in most communities, with the majority of Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy, “White House response coordinator Covid-19, Jeff Zients said in a briefing.
The program, which begins rolling out Feb. 11, will begin at about 6,500 stores that will receive a total of 1 million doses before it finally expands, Zients said.
The administration also announced that it is increasing the weekly distribution of vaccines going to states, tribes and regions by 5%, increasing the weekly number of vaccines purchased each week at at least 10.5 million.
At his meeting, Zients wanted to keep track of expectations regarding the distribution of the pharmacy. He said both vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna are halting production to provide the extra doses.
“In the early stages, many who report nationwide will not have vaccines, or may have very little supply,” he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with states to select pharmacy sites, which take into account “the potential of some of the most at-risk populations to contract serious disease from Covid-19, including socially vulnerable communities, “Zients said.
Administration officials briefed representatives from major pharmacy companies on Tuesday before the plan was made public.
The White House registered 21 national pharmacy chains participating in the first phase of the program, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid.
The plan to expand the availability of vaccines has been in the works for a long time and was a key part of the old Trump administration’s circulation plan as well. In some states, such as Maryland, these plans are underway, and they are already starting to roll out vaccines.
Public health experts have said it is vital to expand places that Americans can visit to get the vaccine, both to speed up circulation efforts but also to ensure that the vaccine is available with more swaths. the general public as vaccine differences emerge.
Adding new places to the vaccine will only reduce part of the problem, though. Vaccine supply is still very limited and the extra places are likely to come as states continue to shout for more doses.
Just last month, the new Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Dr. Rochelle Walensky told NBC News that the early expansion would not mean all pharmacies, everywhere.
“I don’t think at the end of February we will have a vaccine in every pharmacy in this country,” Walensky said.
CNN’s Jason Hoffman contributed to this report.