CVS Health is ready to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to the general public, eventually distributing as many as 25m doses a month

CVS Health said recently it anticipates it will soon be administering up to 25 million vaccines per month across the country. Karen S. Lynch, who is poised to take the helm of CVS on February 1, said: “We have over 90,000 clinicians, through our pharmacists, through our pharmacy techs, through our nurses and nurse practitioners, to administer the vaccine.” Speaking during a conference call with health care industry analysts, she added that CVS developed a digital app for scheduling appointments. Lynch asserted, “We’ll have a ’round-trip ticket’ so to speak so you’ll get your second scheduled appointment and then we can follow up with you with texts and things like that and a phone call because that is a big thing relative to the vaccine, making sure people get their second shot.” CVS had already been using data and analytics to guide health care alongside the digital delivery of health care services. Regarding telehealth, she said: “Many of these changes will be permanent and establish a new normal.” CVS last year also opened 600 HealthHUBs in CVS pharmacies nationwide, according to Lynch. HealthHUBs are staffed with nurses and other medical professionals who offer services between doctor visits and eliminate trips to the emergency room. Lynch noted that 40% of the company’s “Return Ready” coronavirus testing clients are new to CVS Health. She said, “Over 6 million people who tested for COVID at a CVS location are not currently CVS customers.”