On their website CVS Health corporation announced about plans to providing COVID-19 vaccinations and CVS Health partnership in long-term care facilities throughout the country when the vaccine becomes available.
“CVS Health has been on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, working across the health care spectrum in all the communities we serve and that will continue to be the case when we have a vaccine to administer,” said Troyen Brennan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. “Our nation’s elderly living in long-term care facilities are one of the most vulnerable populations. With early access to a vaccination, we can help keep them, and the staff caring for them, healthy and safe.”
5 Million Tests
During the COVID-19 pandemic that is still going over the world, and already tale more than 1 million lives CVS Health had to mobilized its colleagues and resources to offer the large-scale COVID-19 testing sites and have now administered more than five million COVID tests.
“CVS Health is already providing 70 percent of the testing done in a retail setting through its test sites at 3,700 of its drive thru pharmacies,” said Larry Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Health. “Our community test sites are there for underserved communities and provide testing for long-term care facilities. At the same time, we’re helping America get back to work by offering testing directly through employers. Moving forward we’ll have the capacity to administer approximately four million COVID-19 tests per month to meet the nation’s needs ahead of a vaccine approval.”
Flu Season
The final data on flu season 2019/2020 was released by the CDC in April as COVID-19 continued to spread throughout the United States.
Between October 1, 2019 and April 4, 2020, the flu resulted in:
- 39 to 56 million illnesses
- 410,000 to 740,000 hospitalizations
- 24,000 to 62,000 deaths
- 169 pediatric deaths
The flu shot is developed at the start of each season to protect from strains of the flu. More than 170 million doses of the flu vaccine were administered to fight the 2019/2020 flu virus. At the beginning of the year, the vaccine reduced doctor’s visits by 45% overall and 55% in children, but rates among children and young adults were higher earlier in the season compared to recent seasons.
“The vaccine has significantly reduced medical visits associated with influenza so far this season,” the CDC announced in its February 21 report.
If you have already received your vaccine for the 2020/2021 season, you don’t need to get a second shot–except children under the age of 9 who are getting vaccinated for the first time.
“While it’s possible to get the flu even if you get the shot, vaccination reduces your risk of getting sick and may lessen the severity of the symptoms if you do,” explained the CDC’s Lynnette Brammer.
The overall cumulative hospitalization rate was 67.9 per 100,000 populations over the same time period. This number is higher than all recent seasons during the same time period, except for the 2017-18 season.
Hospitalization rates in children aged 0-4 years old and adults 18-49 years old are the highest on record according to the CDC, surpassing the rate reported during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
CVS Health Partnership And Experience
“We’re confident the experience and expertise we’ve honed through our COVID-19 testing and flu vaccinations uniquely positions CVS Health to lead the way. Thanks to the tireless efforts of CVS Health employees, nearly 300,000 across all 50 states, we stand ready for what lies ahead,” said Larry Merlo.
“CVS Health is a diversified health services company and our role in combatting the pandemic demonstrates that our strategy and enterprise assets empowers us to play a unique role in addressing the needs of communities across the country.”
The company has already administered more than nine million flu shots in 2020 and is well on its way to administering nearly 20 million by year’s end.
