CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced on Monday that it will hire 15,000 healthcare employees in the fourth quarter of this year in order to help the pharmacy-chain keep up with anticipated demand for influenza and eventual COVID vaccines. More than 10,000 of those new hires will be tasked with administering COVID vaccines and tests.
The pharmacy-chain has largely expanded its staffing in response to the pandemic, enlisting healthcare workers in its more than 4,000 COVID-19 designated drive-thru testing sites and has completed nearly 5 million tests for the coronavirus. The new hiring spree is part of the company's overall efforts announced in March to add 50,000 employees across the United States to assist patients and customers during the coronavirus outbreak.
According to company spokesperson Joe Goode, CVS has hired about 76,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees in its expansion to help meet growing demand for over-the-counter medications, early refills of prescriptions and other pharmaceutical needs amid the pandemic, CNBC reports.
Alongside hiring additional pharmacy technicians in the latest leg of its hiring spree, CVS stated that it is also looking to hire pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and distribution center employees; all positions are aimed to help with all logistics of distribution and administration of flu vaccines and COVID vaccines, once they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for public use.
Last week, the Trump Administration signed agreements with CVS and Walgreens Boot Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) to administer coronavirus vaccines free of charge to residents and staff of all U.S. long-term care facilitates such as nursing homes, assisted-living, residential care, and other geriatric care facilities.
Under the deal, CVS and Walgreens will schedule and coordinate on-site clinic dates directly with facilities that opt-in to the program, the Department of Health and Human Services (H.H.S.) said in a press release. The companies will likely make three total visits over two months to administer both doses of approved vaccines to residents.
Additionally, CVS and Walgreens will received and manage vaccines independent from the federal government, with the pharmacy companies also responsible for storage and administration of the pending vaccines.
"Protecting the vulnerable has been the number one priority of the Trump Administration's response to COVID-19, and that commitment will continue through distribution a safe and effective vaccine earliest to those who need it most," H.H.S. Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
Meanwhile, U.S. public health officials have tasked state to formulate individual plans for how coronavirus vaccines will be distributed throughout the total population once authorized for broad public use.
There are currently four potential vaccines conducting late-stage clinical trials from the companies AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), BioNTech (NASDAQ: BTNX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). However, AstraZeneca's and Johnson & Johnson's trials have been paused in the U.S. due to safety concerns.