CVS, Walgreens to help distribute Covid vaccines to nursing homes

(CNN) - The federal government has made a deal with retail pharmacies CVS and Walgreens to help distribute coronavirus vaccine -- once one or more gets authorized -- to long-term care facilities like nursing homes, federal officials said Friday.

The two drugstore chains are the best placed to send out mobile units to vaccinate seniors and other vulnerable people on site, Paul Mango, deputy chief of staff for policy at the Health and Human Services Department, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

"This is a completely voluntary program on the part of every nursing home. This is an opt-in program," Mango said.

It will be up to the drugstore chains to figure out how to deliver the vaccines, including cold storage requirements and personal protective equipment. The retailers also will have to determine how to collect fees from Medicare, Medicaid or private insurers for administering the vaccines, which must be provided to people free of charge, officials said.