Meijer pharmacies now offering COVID-19 vaccine at every store
Meijer will be directly receiving and administering doses of COVID-19 vaccines in all six of the Midwest states it serves, the company announced Monday. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer was identified by the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to offer the vaccines in Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky, on top of its existing efforts via the program in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
Meijer said the expansion would allow it to administer 150,000 doses this week through clinics held at its stores, as well as at offsite clinics.
“Our stores and pharmacies continue playing an integral role in supporting their communities across the Midwest during this challenging time," Meijer president & CEO Rick Keyes said. "Whether our team members and pharmacists are working with local organizations, coordinating offsite events or hosting large in-store clinics, we're proud to continue our efforts as a federal retail pharmacy partner in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky as we expand access to these critical vaccines and defeat this pandemic."
Meijer said it would be conducting more than 950 clinics this week throughout its footprint, in addition to supporting FEMA at the agency’s mass-vaccination clinics being held at Ford Field in Detroit and various other offsite clinics with different partners.
The retailer has administered 500,000 does of COVID-19 vaccines since it began its efforts through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership. It also has a system in place to allow people to text COVID to 75049 to receive a link to register for a vaccine appointment and fill out a short survey that allows pharmacists to know which vaccine phase they are in, allowing for users to be contacted with a date for their vaccine.
"Our pharmacy teams have been working diligently to vaccinate as many people as possible since doses have become available," Meijer Pharmacy vice president Jason Beauch said. "Expanding the partnership with the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program makes our job even easier because now we'll be able to reach even more people interested in receiving this vaccine."