Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies in Arkansas and Missouri will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible customers in select locations on Friday, including Mountain Home, Harrison and West Plains, as part of a federal effort to expand vaccine distribution.Talk Business Arkansas reports the company says customers who meet the eligibility requirements can schedule an appointment via the Walmart and Sam’s Club websites once appointment times become available. Vaccines will be available to those who meet vaccine eligibility in Arkansas, which can be found at the Arkansas Department of Health website.Walmart said more than 1,000 of its pharmacies in 22 states are receiving federal vaccine allocations this week, with the emphasis on locations that reach customers in underserved communities with limited access to healthcare.
A complete list of the stores administering the vaccine can be found at this link.
In Missouri, the Department of Health and Senior Services reports following the recent White House announcement regarding the launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccine administration, federal partners have selected 102 retail pharmacies to join the state’s effort to efficiently make vaccines available to any eligible Missourian.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with our federal partners and provide an additional avenue for Missourians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” Governor Mike Parson says. “This partnership will be a great help in expanding vaccine access and getting more doses into arms as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Eighty-one Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacy locations will begin receiving vaccines from a federal allocation (not out of the state’s weekly allocation), and vaccinations will begin Friday at participating locations in Missouri. Additionally, 21 Health Mart independent pharmacies across Missouri will also soon begin receiving and administering vaccinations in the future.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the federal program is being implemented incrementally based on the available vaccine supply, with select retail pharmacy locations providing COVID-19 vaccine to eligible individuals. As vaccine availability increases over time, the program will expand to ultimately include all 40,000+ pharmacies across the nation.”
“We are grateful to soon begin seeing these additional doses from our federal partners available to Missourians,” says Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “In conversations with the White House and our federal partners, these pharmacies were selected by them in the designated areas because of their accessibility for many Missouri communities and the trust pharmacies have built with their patients.”
Separate from the state’s limited weekly allotment, the 102 Missouri retail pharmacies are scheduled to receive a total of more than 18,000 doses per week. Eligible customers can schedule a vaccine appointment via the Walmart and Sam’s Club websites once appointments are available, making it convenient to get vaccinated while allocation lasts.
Walmart officials say they are partnering with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will move quickly as possible to administer vaccines to eligible populations in participating states. In addition to the 22 states where Walmart will support the vaccination efforts as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, the retailer is also administering vaccinations under the jurisdiction allocation in 11 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Walmart said customers who schedule an appointment online will also get a digital reminder when it is time to return for the second dose. Walmart said consumers don’t have to be Sam’s Club members to sign-up for an appointment, but they will be asked to create a profile online. Appointments are available seven days a week, but exact timing will vary based on local availability of the vaccine.
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