In Spite of Pandemic-Related Challenges, Urgent Care Patient Volume Continues to Grow—and Centers Are Ready to Pitch in on Vaccinations

For months, the Urgent Care Association has been asking its constituency to take part in surveys designed to take the industry’s temperature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses to the most recent queries show that UCA member organizations are still seeing patient volumes grow—albeit slowly this month (1%)—as they recover from setbacks early in the pandemic. Perhaps more importantly, the majority are looking ahead and planning to participate in immunization programs once a COVID-19 vaccine is available. Responses from 513 urgent care centers show that 88% of facilities plan to participate in a vaccine initiative if costs are covered; 12% say they plan to participate no matter how the program is administered. All this in spite of lacking important supplies such as N95 masks (33% of respondents), gloves (30%), wipes (36%) and test kits (41%). (One note on the still-awaited vaccine: Be aware that the U.S. Department of Health and Human services is working with commercial insurers to provide the future COVID-19 vaccine with no copay required.)