CVS expands Covid-19 vaccine to 12 more states

In the last week, CVS has started administering the vaccine to eligible populations in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah and Vermont. The company is now administering Covid-19 vaccines in nearly 1,200 stores across 29 states and Puerto Rico. Covid-19 vaccine appointments at CVS are only available online or by phone.

"We're increasing the number of active stores and expanding to additional states as fast as supply allows, with the capacity to administer [up to] 25 million shots per month," Karen Lynch, CEO of CVS, said in a news release Thursday.

CVS is administering vaccines to eligible groups through a partnership with the federal government. Eligibility varies by state. CVS said that more than 30% of vaccine appointments from March 3 to March 10 were pre-K through 12 educators and staff and child care workers.

Twenty-one chain pharmacies and networks of independent pharmacies are taking part in the federal program, including Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger and others. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores says its members have the capacity to administer 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine once supply is available.

More than 95 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 10% of the US population is fully vaccinated.

President Joe Biden said earlier this month that the United States would have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, dramatically accelerating his previous timeline.