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A man waits for pharmacist Joe Borge in Danvers, MA on February 1, 2021. On the first day of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 deployment, people aged 75 and over get vaccinated at Walgreens Pharmacy, at 107 High Street in Danvers.
Pat Greenhouse | Boston Globe | Getty Images
Walgreens and Uber are teaming up to allow people who don’t have a car or a drugstore nearby to get vaccinated against Covid-19. They announced Tuesday that Uber will offer free rides to Walgreens stores and clinics for those who book appointments and live in underserved areas of the country.
The pilot program will begin in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and El Paso. A Walgreens spokeswoman said free rides would be offered as early as next week in Atlanta, then expand to other cities.
The partnership is part of a pledge made by Uber in December to offer 10 million free or discounted rides to make sure transportation doesn’t prevent people from getting vaccinated against Covid. Once a person has a confirmed appointment at Walgreens or a company-run offsite clinic, they will receive an email with an offer to schedule a free ride.
Walgreens, the country’s second-largest pharmacy chain, will play an expanded role in the deployment of the Covid vaccine later this week. From Friday, he will give vaccines priority groups, like older Americans or those with pre-existing health conditions, in select stores in 15 states and two jurisdictions, Chicago and New York.
The Biden administration announced last week that it would begin sending direct dose shipments to about 6,500 retail stores across the country. It plans to eventually extend this program to 40,000 pharmacies.
So far, vaccine deployment has been hampered by limited supply. It also reflects wider inequalities in health care. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of the nearly 13 million people who received at least one injection of a Covid vaccine in the first month of distribution were older, white and female. Many immunization sites have relied on online systems, which can be complicated for older Americans to navigate or out of reach for people without cell phones or reliable internet access.
Covid has had a disproportionate toll on black Americans. Black Americans have died from Covid at 1.5 times the rate of whites, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which is managed by reporters from The Atlantic.
Walgreens and Uber said they plan to work together in other ways as well. Uber said it will add in-app features that will make it easier for Uber drivers, delivery people and freight to book a vaccine appointment when they become more widely available. Companies are developing an educational program with the National Urban League to reduce vaccine hesitancy.
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