“Grocery stores will help speed up the national vaccination program,” David Bishop, a partner and analyst at Brick Meats Click, a retail and grocery consulting firm, told CNN Business. “This is just a function of capacity in the grocery store,” Bishop said. “Many groceries that already run pharmacies have ‘very large and existing storage areas, whether we talk in the backroom or on the sales floor.’
But when it comes to buying and using ultra-cold freezer units, the Pfizer vaccine will be shipped to pharmacies across the United States, and grocery stores and drug stores are “starting from scratch,” said Gary Bisig, vice president of Labrepco. A pay firm that specializes in research equipment for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Pfizer vaccine will come in thermal shippers that can be used as a temporary storage unit when filled with dry ice. The vials remain in that position According to Pfizer’s statement, up to 15 days, it makes a good option for rapid replacement, but not for long-term vaccine storage, which is likely. Will be normal. According to Pfizer’s instructions, the boxes can only be opened twice a day, and not more than a minute each time.
The vaccine can also be stored in refrigeration units at temperatures ranging from 2 સે C to 8 સે C, which is usually available in hospitals, the company said, but vials can only survive that condition for five days, the company said.
Ultra-low-temperature freezers extend the shelf life of the vaccine to six months and can be useful in places where clinicians feel they may not be able to proceed with the vaccine quickly.
Pharmacies have been administering flu vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines for many years, but about 99% of pharmacies in the United States “There is no do access to the freezer at -80 ° C,” Bisig said.
Bisig added that ultra-cold storage units are traditionally purchased by “large hospitals” and “large medical colleges” that use freezers for research. “The application of this freezer is traditionally for drug detection,” he highlighted. “It’s not for drug distribution.”
Labradors began building small -80 ° C units for small pharmacies and clinics as soon as they heard about the storage requirements for the Pfizer vaccine.
“Ultra-cold freezers will be an essential part [Walgreens’] “We are taking advantage of the combination of these ultra-cold freezers and dry ice storage solutions to support these drugs,” a Waggrins spokesman told CNN.
“We started making them as fast as we could, but that wasn’t enough,” Bisig said. “These factories can’t double their normal size. All they can do is add more people and try to get more raw materials and supplies, and they’re doing the best they can.”
That said, the overall global demand for these products has reached an inadvisable level at this stage.
Grocery store pharmacies are also being set up, but many grocery plans to purchase over-cold storage units are contingent when certain vaccines are authorized. If the Pfizer vaccine is first authorized, stores will focus on receiving and using ultra-cold storage.
“Supermarket pharmacies are in a good position to operate Covid-19 vaccines when they are available in a safe and convenient location,” said Heather Garlich, VP of FMI, a trade group of food marketing, food retailers and wholesalers, in CNN Business. The group is currently in contact with major refrigeration providers where more refrigeration is needed than current capacity.
Long lines
Storage is not the only problem. The operation of potentially long lines at stores is another hurdle that pharmacies will likely have to overcome.
Some clinics are already testing the vaccine administration Strategies with the flu vaccine when the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. Awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Jeffries healthcare stock analyst Brian Tenkillut highlighted the pilot program at the Drive Through Clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana. He said the clinic is testing drive-by-flu vaccinations to prepare for the roll-out of the drive-thru strategy for the state-run Covid-19 vaccines.
Like CVS’s Covid-19 test operation, the vaccine will be available to CVS customers by appointment only, and can be booked through the CVS website or application.
A CVN spokesperson told CNN Business, “Think of it like a roundtrip ticket – you’ll book both doses at once, with a healthy number of reminders (texts, calls, etc.) before the first and second seconds,” the CVN spokesperson said. Customers Online will also have a dedicated 800 number for customers who do not have access.
Grocery chain Albertson is also preparing the vaccine. The company said that once the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, recipients will be able to fill out a vaccine consent form in Albertson pharmacy applications, reducing the time spent at the pharmacy.
Which pharmacies will have the vaccine?
Tankillt said the government has essentially “entered into agreements with these retailers so that they can administer the vaccine through them.” Now it is up to the companies – with the advice of the government – to decide which specific locations will administer the Covid-19 vaccine.
Despite the high demand, some vignettes and CVS locations will not offer the vaccine, Tankilute said. He emphasized that not all CVS and Vagrans locations were testing covid and that the offer of vaccinations could potentially demonstrate that.
“It will be selected, big places that will have those capabilities,” he added.
When it comes to delivery, “out of delivery figure out whether it belongs to the government or not because this is a very allocated product.”
As it is happening now, May is an early target for vaccination for the general public. But it could happen in June or later, depending on what the advisory committee on immunization practice decides, depending on what the vaccine supply looks like and how smooth the delivery is. Health care workers, nursing home residents, high-risk adults and essential workers expect vaccine access starting in December.
CVS and Waggrins are preparing to be among the first to operate the Covid-19 shot in the United States if the FDA allows emergency use. But that vaccination will take place in long-term care facilities, according to CTS and Walgreens. CVS Pharmacists will tour the facilities, similar to how they run seasonal flu clinics on site, the company told CNN Business in an email.
A spokesman for Kroger, Publics, Albertson, Wegman and Gristids could not share details about purchasing ultra-cold storage units.
– CNN’s Naomi Thomas and Maggie Fox contributed to this report
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