NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson issued the following statement following the Biden Administration’s launch today of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program, as described by White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients:

“Today’s announcement is another crucial step forward to helping Americans get back to all we need and love – and we look forward to the program being ramped-up as vaccine supply increases. Trusted local pharmacies are ready to turn vaccine doses into vaccination appointments.

“We all know that vaccine supply remains the rate-limiting step at this time; yet the nation’s network of community pharmacies can readily meet the goal of giving 100 million vaccinations in one month assuming such supply is available. As White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients articulated so well today, 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy and the nation’s 40,000 regional and national pharmacy locations are vital for scaling COVID-19 vaccinations. Pharmacies are key to giving COVID-19 vaccinations efficiently and equitably.

“We are so pleased to see the Biden Administration fulfill their pledge to commencing this program. We look forward to deploying the assets and expertise of pharmacies across America to protect the health and livelihoods of individuals, families, communities and the nation. We are deeply honored to be part of the Biden National Strategy for COVID Recovery.

“We also want to emphasize that by virtue of their extensive experience collaborating with public health, pharmacies also are key to standing up mass clinics and mobile clinics. Trusted pharmacy team members can contribute to the success of such clinics – and particularly helping to enhance vaccine confidence among all Americans.”