Questions Arise on Why Pharmacies Are Again Taking Center Stage with COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic first started taking hold, it seemed like pharmacies in the United States could get all the testing supplies they needed while urgent care centers were relegated to the sidelines. Now that several viable vaccines are available, that balance has yet to shift in any substantive way. Sure, hospitals and local and regional public health agencies are also conducting immunization programs but urgent care is again getting short shrift—but this time others outside our industry are noticing and asking Why? For example, Politico posted an article questioning the decision to emphasize pharmacy’s prominent role in confronting the pandemic, seeking comment from Experity’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Callan Young, who noted that urgent care has been actively lobbying for inclusion in vaccine distribution plans at the state level while patients clamor for more locations that have supplies. To Young’s point, the Urgent Care Association has been working to ensure that urgent care centers are recognized as viable community resources for immunization. To read more about those efforts, and how you can help yourself and urgent care in general, visit UCA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Resources page.