On October 16, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) published about their decision to help administer Walgreens COVID-19 vaccination to vulnerable populations once available.
“Walgreens is pleased to work with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration as part of Operation Warp Speed to help administer COVID-19 vaccines, once available, to high priority groups, including long-term care facility residents and staff. Ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines once approved and available will be critical to saving lives and helping our nation recover from the pandemic,” – WBA said.
Walgreens COVID-19 Vaccination During Pandemic
Since the beginning of COVID-19 there are almost 40 million cases worldwide, and about 1 million deaths. The novel coronavirus’ case fatality rate has been estimated at around 2%, in the WHO press conference held on January 29, 2020. However, it noted that, without knowing how many were infected, it was too early to be able to put a percentage on the mortality rate figure. A prior estimate had put that number at 3%. Fatality rate can change as a virus can mutate, according to epidemiologists.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, working closely with government and health officials, manufacturers and distributors, and other industry leaders, Walgreens has helped accelerate the availability of COVID tests, ensured access to essential medicines and products, ramped up our annual flu immunization program, and served as a safe and trusted source of information and resources.
We are proud of how pharmacists continue to rise to the challenge in serving the needs of patients in combatting the pandemic. We look forward to leveraging our nationwide footprint, community presence and pharmacist expertise to help administer COVID-19 vaccines once they become available,” – company said.
Vaccine Update
There are currently more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates under development, with a number of these in the human trial phase. WHO is working in collaboration with scientists, business, and global health organizations through the ACT Accelerator to speed up the pandemic response. When a safe and effective vaccine is found, COVAX (led by WHO, GAVI and CEPI) will facilitate the equitable access and distribution of these vaccines to protect people in all countries. People most at risk will be prioritized.
Building on the response to recent outbreaks of Ebola virus disease, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, the R&D Blueprint has facilitated a coordinated and accelerated response to COVID-19, including an unprecedented program to develop a vaccine, research into potential pharmaceutical treatments and strengthened channels for information sharing between countries.
“Protecting the vulnerable has been the number one priority of the Trump Administration’s response to COVID-19, and that commitment will continue through distributing a safe and effective vaccine earliest to those who need it most,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
“Our unprecedented public-private partnership with CVS and Walgreens will provide convenient and free vaccination to residents of nursing homes across America, another historic achievement in our efforts to get a safe and effective vaccine to Americans as fast as possible,” – said WBA.
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