COVID-19 Vaccinations Ramp Up in the Wake of Federal Retail Pharmacy Program

In a recent interview with Pharmacy Times, Council Powell, PharmD, region director with CVS, said pharmacists and technicians are hard at work administering COVID-19 vaccines around the country.

Powell said that although there have been national conversations around vaccine supply, transportation, and storage, pharmacists are largely focused on what’s in front of them and what they can do now. As a partner in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, Powell said CVS pharmacists are receiving direct shipments of the vaccine to administer to their communities, dependent on each state’s eligibility requirements.

“Given the extremely limited supply, the number of pharmacies currently with the vaccine in each state is limited—I want to make sure I’m clear on that,” Powell said. “As supplies increase, the number of states, as well as the number of pharmacies within each state where CVS Health is able to provide the vaccine will increase.”