The CDC Has Seen the Light and Is Counting on Urgent Care to Boost COVID-19 Immunization

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking its jurisdictions to work with urgent care operators and hospital emergency rooms to allocate and administer COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to equalize disparities in adult immunization. In its monthly letter to the 64 jurisdictions, which are dispersed throughout the U.S. and its territories, the agency noted that “with 50% of the U.S. population visiting either an emergency department of urgent care facility annually, these access points serve as the primary—and often only—point of healthcare access for up to a fifth of the U.S. population.” The CDC further stressed that distribution of vaccine supplies should be prioritized in areas that have been severely impacted by the pandemic and in which vaccine rates are low. It’s offering “technical assistance” to locations that sit in such areas to support broader distribution and acceptance. For more information on how the CDC works with jurisdictions to support distribution and administration of the vaccine, visit the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Operational Guidance page on the CDC website.