Before Americans Can Get Their Covid-19 Vaccines, Some Pharmacies Need Big Upgrades

“The grocery stores will help support a faster roll-out of a national immunization program,” David Bishop, partner and analyst at retail and grocery consulting firm Brick Meets Click, told CNN Business. It’s simply a function of capacity in grocery stores, Bishop said. Many of the grocers who already operate drug stores have “much larger, existing storage areas, whether we’re talking in the back room or on the sales floor,” he said.

But the Pfizer vaccine will be sent to pharmacies across the United States, and grocery stores and drugstores are “starting from scratch” when it comes to purchasing and using ultra-cold freezers, Gary Bissig said, vice-president of LabRepCo, a company specializing in research devices for the pharmaceutical industry.

The Pfizer vaccine will arrive in thermal senders that can be used as temporary storage units when filled with dry ice. The vials last under these conditions for 15 days, according to a statement from Pfizer, which makes it a good option for a quick turnaround time, but not for long-term storage of vaccines, which will likely be common. According to Pfizer’s instructions, the boxes can only be opened twice a day and each time for up to one minute.

The vaccine can also be stored at 2 ° C to 8 ° C in refrigeration units commonly available in hospitals, the company said, but the vials can only last for five days under these conditions.

Ultra-low temperature freezers extend the shelf life of the vaccine up to six months and could be useful in places where clinicians feel they might not pass through the vaccine quickly.

Pharmacies have been administering flu shots and pneumococcal vaccines for many years now, but about 99% of pharmacies in the United States do not have access to a -80 ° C freezer, said Bissig.

Bissig added that ultra-cold storage units have traditionally been purchased by “big hospitals” and “big medical schools” that use freezers for research. “The application of this freezer is traditionally for drug discovery,” he said. “It’s not for drug distribution.”

LabRepCo started building small -80 ° C units for small pharmacies and clinics as soon as it heard about the storage requirements for the Pfizer vaccine.

“Ultra-cold freezers will be an essential part of [Walgreens’] “A Walgreens spokesperson told CNN.” We are exploring the use of a combination of these ultra-cold freezers and dry ice storage solutions to support these drugs.

“We started doing them as quickly as possible, but it wasn’t enough,” Bissig said. “These factories can’t grow to 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 their best.”

“The overall global demand for these products has reached an unsustainable level at this point,” he said.

Grocery pharmacies are also gearing up, but many grocers’ plans for purchasing ultra-cold storage units depend on when specific vaccines are authorized. If Pfizer’s vaccine is first licensed, stores will focus on acquiring and using ultra-cold storage.

“Supermarket pharmacies are in a good position to administer Covid-19 vaccines in a safe and convenient location when they are available,” Heather Garlich, vice president of FMI, a food marketing business group, told CNN Business , food retailers and wholesalers. The group is currently in contact with major refrigeration suppliers in case there is a need for refrigeration beyond the existing capacity.

Long lines

Storage is not the only problem. Managing potentially long queues in stores is another hurdle that pharmacies will likely have to overcome.

Some clinics are already testing the administration of vaccines strategies with the influenza vaccine as the pharmaceutical industry awaits US Food and Drug Administration approval. Brian Tanquilut, a health analyst at Jeffries, highlighted a pilot program at a drive-thru clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana. He said the clinic was testing flu vaccines while driving to prepare to roll out a drive-thru strategy for the state-administered Covid-19 vaccines.

Similar to CVS’s Covid-19 testing operation, vaccines will be available to CVS customers by appointment only, and they can be booked through the CVS website or app.

“Think of it as a round trip ticket – you’ll book both doses at the same time, with lots of reminders (texts, calls, etc.) before the first and second shot,” said a spokesperson for CVS to CNN Business. There will also be a dedicated 800 number for customers who do not have online access.

The Albertsons grocery chain is also gearing up for the vaccine. The company said that once the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, recipients will be able to complete vaccine consent forms in Albertsons pharmacy apps, reducing time spent at the pharmacy.

Which pharmacies will have the vaccine?

The government has basically “put agreements in place with these retailers to make sure they can get vaccines through them,” Tanquilut said. It is now up to these companies to determine – in consultation with the government – which specific sites will administer the Covid-19 vaccine.

Even with high demand, some Walgreens and CVS sites will not administer the vaccine, Tanquilut said. He pointed out that not all CVS and Walgreens sites do Covid testing and that vaccination offers will likely reflect this.

“There are going to be selected, larger locations that will have these capabilities,” he added.

Regarding delivery, “it’s up to the government to determine delivery because it’s a highly allocated product,” Tanquilut said.

As it stands, May is probably the closest target for general public vaccinations. But that could happen in June or later, depending on what the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decides, what the vaccine supply looks like, and how smoothly the distribution goes. Healthcare workers, residents of nursing homes, high-risk adults and essential workers are expected to have access to the vaccine from December.

CVS and Walgreens are preparing to be among the first to administer Covid-19 injections in the United States, if the FDA allows emergency use. But those vaccinations would take place in long-term care facilities, not retail stores, according to CVS and Walgreens. CVS pharmacists will be visiting the facilities, much the same way they run seasonal flu clinics on site, the company said in an email to CNN Business.

Spokespersons for Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, Wegmans and Gristedes were unable to share details on the purchase of ultra-cold storage units.

– CNN’s Naomi Thomas and Maggie Fox contributed to this report