Health & Fitness
CVS Expands Coronavirus Vaccination Sites To 136 MA Pharmacies
Just 18 Massachusetts CVS locations were administering vaccines when pharmacies first became part of the state's rollout plan.
BOSTON — CVS dramatically increased the number of Massachusetts pharmacies administering coronavirus vaccinations, the company announced Friday.
The number of CVS pharmacies taking appointments for the shots in Massachusetts is now 136, up from just 18 since the company began giving shots in the state.
The new locations announced Friday are spread throughout the entire state. As of about noon Friday, all of them were listed as "fully booked" on the CVS website, but customers were being urged to keep checking and make an appointment when one becomes available.
Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
See A List of CVS Pharmacies Giving the COVID-19 Vaccine In Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, people currently eligible for the vaccine include residents over 65, people with two or more underlying health conditions, health care workers, first responders and residents and staff of low income and affordable senior housing.
Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Thursday, Gov. Charlie Baker also said teachers can begin signing up for vaccine appointments beginning March 11.
CVS's vaccine rollout is part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccines, a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks.
According to the CDC, the program is being implemented incrementally based on the available vaccine supply, with select retail pharmacy locations providing COVID-19 vaccine to eligible individuals. As vaccine availability increases over time, the program will expand to ultimately include all 40,000 pharmacies in the United States, the CDC said.
As of Thursday, more than 1.9 million vaccine shots had been given in Massachusetts. More than 1.3 million had gotten a single dose of one of the vaccines, while more than 614,000 had received both shots, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
For more local coverage on the coronavirus vaccine, visit our Massachusetts vaccine information page.
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