Walmart prepares for COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Indiana, 6 other states
(WISH) — Some Hoosiers may soon be able to get vaccines at their local Walmart store, as selected stores in seven states begin administering the shots next week.
They plan to offer the vaccine seven days a week at some locations of their pharmacies.
It comes as President Biden and his administration work to accelerate vaccine distribution. The Centers for Disease Control said 17 million doses of the vaccine have been administered so far. Biden has announced a goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.
At full capacity, Walmart said it will be able to deliver 10-13 million doses per month when supply and allocations allow. It plans to start by focusing on health care deserts in mostly rural locations and host vaccination events in underserved communities.
To prepare for the rollout, Walmart has been training thousands of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, building a new digital scheduling tool to make appointments easy and partnering with state and federal agencies as they await allocations.
“We want to protect as many patients as possible and this is the easiest way to do that. If you want to go back to having a sense of normal pre-COVID, this is going to be the way to do it,” said Walmart pharmacist Kevin Chung.
Walmart has been administering vaccines in some of its locations in New Mexico and Arkansas.
On Saturday, a Walmart spokesperson said exact locations are still to be determined.