On May 3, Walgreens pharmacy announced that following the success of more than 700 vaccination clinics across the country hosted primarily at churches and community centers, Walgreens will activate multiple mobile clinics in Chicago. The traveling mobile clinics will focus on bringing COVID-19 vaccines directly to underserved communities and those with barriers to accessing the vaccine. Over the next two months, additional mobile clinics will make stops in a number of locations across the country.
Also, since March, Walgreens has worked with local and national partners to host more than 700 off-site vaccination clinics in underserved and rural communities across the nation as part of its COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Initiative.
Walgreens Community
Individuals will be able to walk up to a mobile clinic and receive a vaccination at that time from a Walgreens pharmacy team member. Walgreens is partnering with local organizations across the mobile clinic stops to make community members aware of upcoming dates. Walgreens has administered more than 15 million COVID-19 vaccines to date, and continues to expand vaccination models to ensure all individuals have access to a COVID-19 vaccine. Walgreens has hosted more than 700 vaccination clinics in underserved communities with hundreds more planned in the next month. Additional efforts underway to ensure convenient access to vaccinations include:
- Same-day COVID-19 vaccine appointments in all retail locations across the country beginning Wednesday, May 5, with walk-in appointments available at select stores nationwide.
- Partnerships with more than 100 employers as part of Test and Protect COVID-19 efforts, including Apple and Amtrak to help protect thousands of employees across the country.
- Ensuring Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are broadly available in stores as additional populations become eligible to receive immunizations.
“We understand the important role Walgreens has and will continue to play in removing access barriers to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said John Standley, president, Walgreens. “Mobile clinics and the other models we use will allow us to bring vaccines to the heart of the most impacted communities, as well as addressing common barriers like transportation and convenience for those who want to get vaccinated.”
Walgreens Mobile Clinics
The company’s focus on addressing barriers to access for underserved communities served as the launchpad for the Walgreens COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Initiative, which was created to:
- Provide education and information that addresses hesitancy, corrects misinformation and serves as a source of credible, reliable information.
- Offer multiple points of access to COVID-19 vaccines through our stores, off-site clinics and mobile clinics.
- Create partnerships and strategic alliances with organizations that help us reach underserved populations and overcome barriers to care.
The urgency to address health disparities drives Walgreens commitment to addressing access barriers to COVID-19 vaccinations in medically underserved areas, especially given the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on these communities. Recognizing that not everyone can get to a Walgreens store for a COVID-19 vaccination, different models of care, like off-site clinics, are utilized to reach community members where they are. An off-site clinic can be hosted in church halls, school gymnasiums, and other settings that enable Walgreens to bring its the clinical expertise for vaccinations to communities.
