Brookshire Brothers pharmacies working to keep up with demand for COVID-19 vaccine
“It’s getting to the point where the names on the list exceeds the doses available”
Rural Vaccines By Blake Holland | December 31, 2020 at 4:56 PM CST - Updated December 31 at 5:16 PM
LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - For many rural communities in deep East Texas, Brookshire Brothers pharmacies seem to be one of the few place to find the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I will say that we were a bit surprised when the allocations came out,” said Laura Edmundson, Director of Clinical Pharmacy Programs for Brookshire Brothers. “We didn’t really know when we were getting them until the last minute, nor did we know we would be some of the only providers that had vaccine available to the public.”
More than 30 people at Hospice in the Pines were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday in the initial vaccine distributions by Brookshire Brothers.
The company was allocated 1,700 vaccinations across four pharmacy locations in Lufkin, Huntington and Diboll, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. These vaccines are not available to the general public; Brookshire Brothersâ leadership said they intend to follow state guidelines for distribution.
These vaccinations will be prioritized for paid and unpaid hospital workers working with people who are positive or high-risk for the virus, long-term care staff working with vulnerable populations, EMS providers engaging with 911 services, home health care workers including hospice care, and residents of long-term care facilities, the state website states.
SE Texas pharmacies prepare for next wave of vaccinations
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The components of the coronavirus vaccine before being injected into waiting physicians. Baptist Hospital administered the first of their Covid-19 vaccines to 5 doctors on the pandemic frontlines Friday morning. Photo made on December 18, 2020. Fran Ruchalski/The EnterpriseFran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise
Thousands of doses of the recently approved Moderna vaccine are set to arrive at pharmacies and clinics across Southeast Texas this week, giving further hope of added protection for the area’s most vulnerable and critical frontline workers, but some problems with the vaccination equation remain to be solved.
Brookshire Brothersâ pharmacies to offer COVID-19 vaccine Program begins Dec. 28 (Source: KLTV) By KTRE Digital Media Staff | December 21, 2020 at 4:58 PM CST - Updated December 29 at 1:45 AM
LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - The COVID-19 vaccine will be made available via the pharmacy at regional grocery store chain Brookshire Brothers in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The vaccine will be available in a phased approach, with the first doses being offered to healthcare workers and residents of long term healthcare facilities, followed by essential workers and other high risk individuals. It is expected to be available to the general public by spring or early summer of 2021 and will be administered at no cost to patients.