Supermarkets giving COVID vaccines in your area

[storewanderer]

The CVS near me has a person at a table immediately inside the door. People think there is a line to get inside the store and don't realize it's for the vaccine only. It definitely causes a bottleneck.

Some Rite Aids have this set up as well. However they don't have the bottleneck issue you describe since they have so few customers.

[BillyGr]

The CVS near me has a person at a table immediately inside the door. People think there is a line to get inside the store and don't realize it's for the vaccine only. It definitely causes a bottleneck.

Some Rite Aids have this set up as well. However they don't have the bottleneck issue you describe since they have so few customers.

It is likely also an issue of store set-ups and design.

Our CVS has been doing this as well (in fact, when they aren't doing vaccines that table will have items they are trying to clear out), and that space where the table is (as small as it is) is really the only place they have to put it. The (one remaining) Rite Aid close by when you walk in has far more open space in that front area, so even if they put a similar table (haven't seen it there yet, may just be going at times they aren't offering anything) in a similar spot, people could line up without blocking the doorway more easily.

[Alpha8472]

Right now the demand for the COVID vaccine is high. However, there are problems with finding people who want the vaccine.

Many people sign up online for appointments, but they do not show up. Then the pharmacy desperately has to search for people to give the vaccine to before it expires. In some cases, there may only be minutes left before it goes bad. You try to ask people and they say they do not want it. This usually happens in the afternoon. The vaccine vial is only good for 6 hours.

If the vaccine has to be thrown out, the higher up people at the corporate level get notified and someone will get in serious trouble. It is a pretty horrible thing. The corporate people are ruthless and put a tremendous amount of pressure on pharmacy workers to use up every single vaccine dose.

Later this summer we may have too many vaccine doses and not enough people who want it. We may never get to herd immunity. There are too many people who do not want to get vaccinated. This will drag out the pandemic and during that time the virus will mutate. There will be mutant strains of the virus that won't be affected by the vaccines.

Some pharmacies are taking down names on a phone wait list. That way they can call people who want the leftover vaccine doses. Walmart pharmacy is one of those pharmacies that does that.

[storewanderer]

Some pharmacies are taking down names on a phone wait list. That way they can call people who want the leftover vaccine doses. Walmart pharmacy is one of those pharmacies that does that.

I've been in multiple stores lately where announcements have been made by pharmacy staff that they have (some number of available COVID Vaccines) available right now to come to the pharmacy. Usually I only hear one announcement. But usually I am not in the store for long enough to know if the announcements repeat.

You aren't kidding about Wal Mart. I was in a Wal Mart recently one afternoon, I was in the store for at least an hour, it was fairly busy. They made an announcement that they had 5 vaccines available for immediate use. About 15 minutes later they made an announcement they still had 4 vaccines available. Then as I was leaving (this was another half hour) they made an announcement, this time directed to both "customers and associates" that they still had 4 vaccines available.

Tough to say what will happen this summer. But we are all in for the ride.

[buckguy]

Supermarkets and pharmacies will play less role in the future. State and local health departments have been shifting to other strategies--targeting specific areas with mobile services run by hospitals or clinics and setting up large open facilities where that model makes sense. Mobile services that are known to communities and other more personal outreach will be more important in engaging people who are hesitant to be vaccinated.

[storewanderer]

Supermarkets and pharmacies will play less role in the future. State and local health departments have been shifting to other strategies--targeting specific areas with mobile services run by hospitals or clinics and setting up large open facilities where that model makes sense. Mobile services that are known to communities and other more personal outreach will be more important in engaging people who are hesitant to be vaccinated.

Supermarkets and pharmacies are a very key part of this roll out. Some of those mobile services are being run by the retail chains that are going around to work sites providing vaccinations.

Whether or not this will continue will depend how profitable this delivery method is for these supermarkets and pharmacies. Some chains this will be a profitable enterprise. For other chains it will not be profitable and they will drop the service.

Some of the large drugstore chains and I won't name names but it is pretty obvious which two red logoed chains I may be referring to- have really stretched their store teams thin in trying to do these vaccines and also COVID testing without enough additional staffing to perform these services in addition to their usual pharmacy volumes. Part of the problem is positions in the stores are available but they do not have enough applicants to fill the positions. But I suspect it is a profitable enterprise for them.

[buckguy]

I'm talking about the future, what already is beginning to happen---what you're talking about is already changing. Pharmacies and allied retail may play some role in the future, but will be different and smaller. Health departments, which are the conduits for funds, are already realizing that the initial systems aren't working the way they hoped. If the J&J single dose vaccine gets back on track, the move toward outreach will accelerate even faster. Putting pharmacist trainees in a supermarket, with online registration is not how you reach people beyond the most enthusiastic and persistent. Pharmacies have played an outreach role in some places, going into nursing homes, etc., but they are not the only people who have reach and infrastructure for that sort of thing. There are pop-up contractors for testing who could easily expand to other roles, not to mention lab operators with enormous scale, academic medical center networks, networks of federally qualified health centers and specialty operations related to needle exchange, drug treatment, etc. Even in this first wave, social service providers and these other players have had significant roles.

Supermarkets and pharmacies will play less role in the future. State and local health departments have been shifting to other strategies--targeting specific areas with mobile services run by hospitals or clinics and setting up large open facilities where that model makes sense. Mobile services that are known to communities and other more personal outreach will be more important in engaging people who are hesitant to be vaccinated.

Supermarkets and pharmacies are a very key part of this roll out. Some of those mobile services are being run by the retail chains that are going around to work sites providing vaccinations.

Whether or not this will continue will depend how profitable this delivery method is for these supermarkets and pharmacies. Some chains this will be a profitable enterprise. For other chains it will not be profitable and they will drop the service.

Some of the large drugstore chains and I won't name names but it is pretty obvious which two red logoed chains I may be referring to- have really stretched their store teams thin in trying to do these vaccines and also COVID testing without enough additional staffing to perform these services in addition to their usual pharmacy volumes. Part of the problem is positions in the stores are available but they do not have enough applicants to fill the positions. But I suspect it is a profitable enterprise for them.

[storewanderer]

I'm talking about the future, what already is beginning to happen---what you're talking about is already changing. Pharmacies and allied retail may play some role in the future, but will be different and smaller. Health departments, which are the conduits for funds, are already realizing that the initial systems aren't working the way they hoped. If the J&J single dose vaccine gets back on track, the move toward outreach will accelerate even faster. Putting pharmacist trainees in a supermarket, with online registration is not how you reach people beyond the most enthusiastic and persistent. Pharmacies have played an outreach role in some places, going into nursing homes, etc., but they are not the only people who have reach and infrastructure for that sort of thing. There are pop-up contractors for testing who could easily expand to other roles, not to mention lab operators with enormous scale, academic medical center networks, networks of federally qualified health centers and specialty operations related to needle exchange, drug treatment, etc. Even in this first wave, social service providers and these other players have had significant roles.

I don't know who any of these pop-up contractors you describe are and frankly I would trust a known trusted retailer or pharmacy or a known health network such as Kaiser to provide these types of services vs. some pop-up contractor. I have dealt with medical pop-up contractors for basic physicals and such in multiple workplaces and was not very happy with their process or disorganization. I would not use them for a vaccine. However some who have taken the flu shot through these pop-up clinics in the workplace have not had any negative comment about the experience.

There is always a web of paperwork etc. involved in obtaining medical services in this country due to the billing situation. This and the inventory situation which is quickly getting alleviated is why you have these retailers and pharmacies running online portals and such to register people. These portals were designed in conjunction with the health departments or states/agencies running this whole show also.

There have been more issues with the other vaccines than J&J also. Probably got pulled since the healthcare industry don't want a single dose version. Multiple parties make more money giving two doses. Also hearing there will need to be an annual booster shot every year for COVID from Pfizer CEO this week. I do expect the retailers and pharmacies to be key in delivery of this in the future. Hopefully in the future it won't be "experimental" vaccine anymore. Maybe then, more reluctant people will consider taking it. Anyway, look at how the flu shot has expanded with retailers and pharmacies delivering it on an ongoing basis vs. in the 90's when it was done via medical offices or "pop up clinics" only. Like I said some retailers and pharmacies will keep going with this program in the future and some will deem it not profitable.

[Alpha8472]

The government gives the vaccine free of charge to pharmacies. The pharmacy chains of course want to give the vaccine to customers. It is an easy way to make a profit if the customer has insurance. The insurance will pay the pharmacy an administration fee per vaccine. If the customer does not have insurance, the pharmacy must give it anyway for free. That means the pharmacist is working for free giving the shot to those without insurance.

Pharmacies want the 2 dose vaccine. You can then charge for 2 administration fees.

The problem is that once the demand for vaccines goes down you will be left with unemployed workers who used to give vaccinations. The pharmacy chains are hesitant to hire too many people right now.

[Bagels]

In SoCal, which just recently allowed "everyone else" to get a shot, appointments are spotty at CVS & Walgreens. I noticed that one Walgreens near me had absolutely no availability in the near future -- except for one day when it has 50 (must've added it). Ralphs availability is spotty as well. Only a few Albertsons are offering the shot at the moment, but they all have excellent availability.