CVS Health said it has nearly doubled its Covid-19 vaccination efforts to U.S. pharmacies in 29 states and Puerto Rico.
The additional shipments have enabled CVS to add 13 additional states plus New York City and Philadelphia in the past week. The company is now administering Covid-19 vaccines in nearly 1,200 select drugstores located in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.
“We’re increasing the number of active stores and expanding to additional states as fast as supply allows, with the capacity to administer 20 25 million shots per month,” said Karen S. Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Health. “We’re also focused on priority populations, including vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as well as teachers and school support staff.”
Since CVS Health began administering COVID-19 vaccine doses to residents and staff at over 40,000 long-term care facilities across the country in late December, there has been a dramatic drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths. In fact, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data, between December 20 and February 21 there has been a 94 percent decrease in COVID-19 cases, and an 84 percent decrease in COVID-19 deaths.
Individuals interested in receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster or their initial vaccine series can make an appointment at CVS.com or MinuteClinic.com. Currently, each participating CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic location is offering either the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine, not all three.
When scheduling an appointment on cvs.com, patients will be asked to provide the manufacturer and date of their last COVID-19 vaccine and will be able to schedule an appointment for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose if they have had two previous doses with the same vaccine at least six months prior.