Vaccine distribution nationwide continues to ramp up, with nearly two million shots being given daily. President Biden has now said that every adult could be vaccinated by the end of May. It’s a big promise that brings with it hope: a light at the end of the COVID tunnel. But when will getting a COVID-19 shot be like getting a flu shot? Many of the doses currently being given are at mass-vaccination sites. Will local and national pharmacies be able to simplify the process? The government still controls the supply and distribution of COVID-19 shots. We wanted to understand what that process looks like and when they expect to offer vaccines on demand. Rina Shah, PharmD, the group vice president of pharmacy operations and services at Walgreens, joins us to answer those questions. Listen and subscribe on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google so you don’t miss the next episode. And if you like what you hear, a five-star rating goes a long way in helping us Track the Vax! Serena Marshall: Dr. Shah, I think the biggest question Americans have is: When can I get a COVID-19 vaccine at Walgreens as easily as I can get a flu shot? Rina Shah: We continue to build an inventory, but right now the vaccine continues to be limited. There isn’t enough vaccine, the way that we have for flu. Because inventory is limited and vaccine availability is limited, it does vary by state if you’re eligible. But every week, we’re getting more and more vaccine. So I would just encourage everyone to be as patient as possible. We’re hopeful that as the manufacturers are giving more and more vaccine, that we’ll be able to expand access soon. Serena Marshall: Explain for us how this process works with one of your pharmacies. What does the contract mechanism look like? What is the communication process that goes on for getting the vaccines into your stores? Rina Shah: The CDC and the federal government pretty much own the vaccine. They, the federal government, purchased all of the vaccines. They’re the ones who are determining who [gets it] and when. Serena Marshall: And that’s different from normal vaccines? Rina Shah: Yes, that’s very different from normal vaccines. Normally, we would purchase the vaccine and we would then be able to say, “First come, first served. Walk into your store and get a vaccine.” In this situation, there’s multiple factors. One, the government bought the vaccine, which is great because it’s free then to all customers. And then, the federal government and the state authorities determine where that vaccine goes. We are one of many other pharmacy providers that have been selected in a subset of states to offer a vaccine. Every week we find out from the federal government and the CDC how much vaccine we’re going to get. Serena Marshall: You don’t find out until that week. Rina Shah: The week before. So this is all being managed week by week on how much vaccine we get. There’s a baseline, and then it just continues to build. So we know that we’re going to get a bare minimum. If there’s more of it that week, then we can allocate appropriately. And it’s divvied up by state. So we also aren’t deciding on that, either. The government’s deciding how much is going to each state, and then we allocate it to the stores. Serena Marshall: This sounds like it’s definitely a more complicated process than what you typically would do at Walgreens. Having to coordinate, not just with a distributor to get the vaccine, but the federal government, the state partners. Rina Shah: The foundation and the infrastructure have been there because we’ve been providing vaccinations for 10-plus years. Our pharmacists, our technicians have been trained in being able to administer a vaccine. What is new is the fact that vaccine is so limited in nature and the demand is so great. Serena Marshall: When you go into a pharmacy to get the vaccine, is there an option to pick which vaccine you want? Rina Shah: The recommendation from the CDC, as well as all the providers, is whatever vaccine is available at that location is what’s being administered. So we don’t have the ability at this point to pick one or the other, unless there’s a contraindication. Then we would try to find that specific vaccine that you might be not allergic to. Serena Marshall: We talked to somebody here at Track the Vax who was just in the right grocery store at the right time and was able to get a vaccine. So how do you handle things like vaccine waste? Rina Shah: Because of the way the vaccines are built, there isn’t a lot of flexibility. Once you puncture the vial, you really only have six hours to get through all those doses. So we have a policy in place where we don’t waste a single dose. In case there’s an extra dose, we do have criteria so that we can reach out to those patients that may be eligible to get a vaccine. Serena Marshall: Could I just go to my local Walgreens and ask to be put on some kind of a waiting list? Rina Shah: We don’t have lists like that, a waiting list at every store. It’s more or less making sure that we can get those who have signed up and just move them up earlier. But, we do have on our website a way to get the most up-to-date information.
