Some major US pharmacies will not verify identity before administering COVID-19 vaccines

CHICAGO / NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many U.S. pharmacies, including those at Kroger Co supermarkets and CVS Health Corp’s drugstore chain, say they will not check IDs before administering COVID vaccines -19, leaving the door open for those who don’t. adhere to state guidelines for skipping the line.

As the United States distributed more than 30 million doses of the vaccine, just over 11 million had been administered as of Thursday, a delay that has prompted U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar to call on states to begin vaccinate the vulnerable elderly population and people with certain chronic diseases. health conditions to obtain more vaccines in the arms.

US retailers face the choice of strict enforcement of state eligibility rules with on-site identity checks, or an honor system that could allow people to ignore these guidelines, but also to vaccinate more people.

“National and local guidelines vary in the 40 public health jurisdictions we serve, but in most cases identification will not be necessary to receive the vaccine,” said a spokesperson for Kroger. America’s largest grocery chain has so far administered around 7,800 COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare workers, staff and residents of nursing homes.

Twenty-two states have switched to using age as the primary criteria for prioritizing vaccinations, with four more expected to follow next week. Others adhere to strict guidelines designed to ensure that scarce stocks of coronavirus vaccine get first to healthcare workers, nursing home residents and first responders.

Teachers and other “essential workers” are expected to be among the following as the distribution expands, but who qualifies as an essential worker varies from state to state.

“We do not plan to apply for ID to receive a COVID-19 vaccination,” a CVS Health spokesperson said. “These vaccinations will only be by appointment in our stores and patients will have already undergone an eligibility check when they register for an appointment on our website, through our app or through a 1-800 number. . “

However, the accuracy of the information provided during the eligibility tests performed by some companies is not automatically verified at the vaccination sites.

Walgreens Boots Alliance said it will follow national and local guidelines on how to verify eligibility.

Hy-Vee, which operates grocery stores and pharmacies in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin and other Midwestern states, said it included its own disclaimer on its website that ID might – or might not – be requested before the shot. . “So far we haven’t had any problems,” a spokeswoman said.

Stop & Shop Supermarket, located in the northeastern United States, said it would check identification documents or payment stubs if individual states asked it to do so. Publix Super Markets, which operates in Florida and other southeastern states, said people should provide “proof of insurance and / or their driver’s license or social security card.”

“PUT THEM INTO THE ARMS”

In Washington DC, which relies on drugstore chains Safeway and Giant Food to administer vaccines, it’s unclear who checks the status of healthcare workers.

A district website for healthcare workers to register for a vaccine tells them that they will be verified through their work ID badge or a letter from the employer during the pharmacy appointment.

But Giant Food said in a statement that it was only checking the photo ID and insurance card of anyone who got an appointment through the district’s website.

A spokeswoman for the DC health department said the vaccination team would raise the issue with Giant Food. Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons Companies Inc, did not respond to requests for comment.

Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, attributed the lack of planning and divergent local directions to the chronic underfunding of the U.S. healthcare system as the ongoing pandemic weighs more heavily on the resources.

Schaffner said the solution was to increase vaccine availability and hire more vaccinators.

“The more vaccines you have, the less you have to worry about prioritization,” Schaffner said. “We know it won’t be perfect, but whatever, we have to put them in our arms.”