Privately owned retail pharmacies in
And that figure will likely increase as more people receive booster shots and states across the country scale-down government-run vaccination sites, they said.
Of the more than 473 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in
However, that figure is likely higher when state- and local-government programs are included and as more people get booster shots, the association's
Now, roughly two of every three vaccine doses administered across the country are given at chain pharmacies, the organization estimates.
Pharmacy chains such as CVS and
The goal had been to assist in vaccinating seniors, who are among the most vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19, she said.
Although that arrangement was reached as vaccines became more widely available officials started to "push" to vaccinate the wider population, Roszak said pharmacies are well-positioned to serve as a key provider of the shots going forward.
"Pharmacy has an opportunity to leverage public health and also augment and participate in it," Roszak said.
"One of the values of the private sector is that it can use infrastructure already in place," as opposed to government-run vaccination sites, which had to be set up once the shots became available, she said.
Licensed pharmacists are cleared under a
With just over 60% of the eligible population in
Through Tuesday, more than 47 million booster shots were administered nationally, with recipients of the two-dose
Those given the one-dose
This suggests lower demand, but also highlights the stores' capacity to provide the service, he said.
Demand is expected to increase "as Americans confront this latest variant and plan for holiday travel," he added.
In addition to vaccine distribution, chain pharmacies also established more than 20,000 COVID-19 testing sites, many of which are in "vulnerable communities," such as low-income areas where risk for the virus is high, Roszak said.
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