More Pharmacies Agree to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they are including the Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Elevate Provider Network members in the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccination.

The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Network, which includes Elevate, represents more than 4,100 independent community pharmacies in the USA.

To support this expanded vaccine access program, Pennsylvania-based AmerisourceBergen said in a press release on November 6, 2020, it will serve as a network administrator and place orders with the CDC on behalf of qualified and eligible pharmacy partners.

CDC is partnering with pharmacies to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents in all long-term care settings, including skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and similar congregate living settings where most individuals are over 65 years of age.

Previously the CVS and Walgreens pharmacy chains were identified as COVID-19 vaccine partners.

The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care (LTC) Program announced on October 16, 2020, provides end-to-end management of the COVID-19 vaccination process. The services will be available in rural areas that may not have accessible pharmacies. 

This CDC program is free of charge to participating facilities. These pharmacies will bill private and public insurance for the vaccine administration fee.

Furthermore, LTCF staff who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination can also be vaccinated as part of the program.

“Independent community pharmacies have been fearless and have risen to every challenge that COVID-19 has presented this past year. Independent pharmacies are critical sites of care in their communities year-round and many Americans turn to their local pharmacy for a variety of immunizations annually,” said Brian Nightengale, President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, in a related press release.

A previous survey found significant interest by pharmacists in delivering coronavirus vaccines.

The National Community Pharmacists Association announced on August 31, 2020,  that 86 percent of community pharmacists say they plan to offer the COVID-19 vaccines when they become available.

“Community pharmacists are already doing immunizations, so this is a natural expansion of the healthcare services they’re already providing,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, in a related press statement.

Hoey added: “Penetrating medically underserved communities is a challenge for public health officials. What this data shows is that community pharmacies must be part of the solution.”

“Pharmacy partnership(s) will truly help jurisdictions solve a logistical hurdle and decrease the burden of distributing, administering, and reporting COVID-19 vaccination for both states and long-term care facilities,” said the CDC’s Director, Dr. Robert Redfield, in an October press statement. 

“The CDC is proud to be a part of this public-private partnership that is advancing care for the Nation’s most vulnerable.”

An updated list of COVID-19 vaccine candidates pending U.S. FDA authorization is published by CoronavirusToday on this webpage.

PrecisionVaccinations publishes research-based vaccine news.