CVS and Walgreens Behind Schedule Vaccinating Florida Long-Term Care Seniors

Local10.com reports that state officials in Florida are complaining about CVS and Walgreens' slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations to residents at long-term care communities. All such residents were supposed to have been inoculated by now, and on Monday Gov. Ron DeSantis declared that the state interceded because the pharmacy chains were lagging. "The federal government had an agreement with CVS and Walgreens for them to be able to handle these communities, and we obviously have sourced CVS and Walgreens," he said. "But at the beginning of this, when CVS and Walgreens needed a little more ramp-up time, the state of Florida acted." Florida's Director of Emergency Management Jared Moskowitz described the chains' vaccination efforts as "mediocre." On Sunday, CVS released its Florida long-term care vaccination numbers for the first time, indicating that the date they activated, Jan. 11, was when they were supposed to be finishing up inoculations. Yet only two-thirds of vaccinations have been administered to date. DeSantis said all long-term care residents should be inoculated by the end of January with the additional support the state has activated.