CVS Health’s top executive is confident that the company will be administering coronavirus vaccines in “thousands” of long-term care facilities before the Christmas holiday pending federal approval.
The affirmation by CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo came just hours before a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel endorsed the first COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the United States — the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
“Our first involvement is going to be with the long-term care facilities,” Merlo told CNBC Thursday.
“Upon our receipt of [vaccine] allocation, we’ll be in those long-term care facilities in the first 24 to 48 hours upon receipt, [placing] vaccines into the arms of some of our most vulnerable populations,” he added.
CVS Health and Walgreens have partnered with the federal government to administer the vaccines free of charge to long-term care facilities. More than 99% of skilled nursing facilities have signed up for the program.
Following the recommendation by the vaccine advisory panel late Thursday, the FDA is expected to act within days. Speculation indicates the FDA will go along with the panel’s guidance. A vaccine developed by Moderna has also applied by emergency use approval and its meeting is set for Dec. 17.
Federal officials have long said that they will begin distributing a vaccine just days after each meeting, if all goes well. Most states have also pledged that the initial doses of the coronavirus vaccine would go to long-term care facilities first.
“Pending approval, I’m confident that we’ll be in thousands of facilities before the Christmas holiday,” Merlo said.
He added that CVS Health has 10,000 “dedicated healthcare professionals that are ready to go and they’re excited to be an important part of this solution.”
“Going to long-term care facilities and conducting clinics is something that is not new to us. We’ve been going into those facilities for several years now administering the seasonal flu vaccine,” Merlo said. “We’re ready to go. We’re in great shape.”
