close

COVID-19 vaccines coming to Pennsylvania pharmacies this month

3 min read
article image -

Rite Aid and Topco Pharmacy are among the Pennsylvania pharmacy chains that will receive direct shipments of COVID-19 vaccines starting next week, part of President Joseph Biden’s administration’s plan to ramp up vaccinations, the White House announced Tuesday.

Despite the anticipated additional doses to pharmacies in the federal partnership program, Pennsylvania Department of Health senior adviser Lindsay Mauldin asked for people to be patient as the state’s vaccine distribution plan continues to move slowly.

Rite Aid public relations director Chris Savarese said more information about which stores in Pennsylvania – including those in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties – will be included in the initial shipment, which will be available at a later date.

“The increase in available doses in our communities is welcome news, but we anticipate demand will continue to outpace supply for the foreseeable future,” Savarese said. “As supply becomes more available, Rite Aid will increase the number of stores offering vaccines.”

The vaccine program, called the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership, aims to deliver vaccines to as many as 40,000 drugstores and grocery stores, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said.

“This is a critical step toward providing the public with convenient and trusted places to get a vaccine in their community,” said Zients.

Mauldin said Wednesday that she is pleased the commonwealth will receive the additional vaccines, but noted the demand far outweighs the supply. She said the state is working as fast as it can to get the vaccine into arms.

Pennsylvanians eligible to receive the vaccine have grown frustrated in their failed attempts to get an appointment to receive the vaccine.

Also among the national and regional chains that are participating are CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Costco, along with independent pharmacies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with states to select pharmacies for the vaccine shipments, and plans to include locations that are “harder to reach” and close to people at higher risk of severe COVID-19, Zients said.

He encouraged eligible people to check pharmacy websites for availability.

COVID-19 vaccines in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties currently are limited to people in Phase 1A, which includes health-care workers, people over the age of 65, and those under 65 with underlying health conditions.

According to the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker, Pennsylvania ranks 44th among the 50 states in the percentage of distributed vaccines that have been administered.

Mauldin attributed part of that to a lag on reporting from pharmacies and other partners.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today