GERMANTOWN, Md. — CVS began sign-ups on Thursday morning just one day before the pharmacy giant is expected to begin rolling out vaccines to more eligible residents in Maryland and Virginia.
As expected, slots were quickly reserved including the 18 locations in Maryland. Roughly 11,000 doses have been shipped to the Maryland stores as part of a federal program aimed at using pharmacies in the country to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines. The pharmacy chain is expected to receive the same amount next week.
Doses remain limited for specific stores associated with the more than 20 pharmacy networks partnered with the federal government. In most cases, patients eager to sign up for a vaccine should expect to see openings as doses become available into next week.
"I couldn't believe it at first. I had to look at it a few times to make sure it's real," Germantown resident Annette Smith told WUSA9 after she was able to book her first and second dose appointments on Thursday. "I just persevered and you have to stay with it and get something."
Smith slept in late Thursday after waking up early since Monday to find an open slot on other retail pharmacy websites, including Walgreens, Giant and Walmart. Just like her, many residents have been desperate and collaborated with friends or received tips from neighborhood groups.
"I went and opened a few CVS tabs and kept going to each tab. But the trick is you have to stay on the tab, so I went back to the CVS site and lo behold it advanced to the next panel!" Smith said.
Smith did get lucky and found an appointment in Eldersburg, about 40 minutes away from her house.
WUSA9 watched as the list of cities in Maryland on the CVS scheduler website populate to 'fully booked' in less than an hour. CVS has to work with the state on who is eligible for the Moderna vaccine. In Maryland:
- People age 65+
- K-12 teachers and staff
- Childcare workers
- Higher education institution workers
- Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
In Virginia, the one requirement to get the vaccine is to be 65 and older. A CVS spokesperson said people who booked an appointment in the commonwealth or Maryland are not required to show their ID.
The sign-up system in Maryland seemed to have a better start compared to Virginia, where the system had a confusing and rough start earlier this week.
Despite CVS pushing back the sign-up date to Thursday, appointments were already full well in advance. Per Virginia's request, the company allowed patients who pre-registered through their local health departments to sign up early. CVS opened its scheduling system but it was not able to strictly focus on the commonwealth's waiting list. In turn, any eligible resident was able to sign up and slots filled up fast.
"The state of Virginia asked us to open our scheduling system early for those who pre-registered for a vaccination through their local department of health. We accommodated this request on Tuesday morning. Appointments were filled quickly due to the limited supply of vaccine we will be receiving. Additional appointments will open as we receive additional vaccine doses. And beginning Thursday, February 11, any Virginian over the age of 65 will be able to look for appointments in our system. We regret any confusion caused by the inadvertent omission of Virginia’s pre-registration program from our statement on Monday night. We corrected it the following morning as soon as we realized the information was missing. Together, CVS Health and the state remain focused on our shared goal to vaccinate Virginians," the company said in a statement sent to WUSA9.
A CVS spokesperson said despite what happened, there were a few appointments available in Abingdon but they were quickly reserved. The company announced 26,000 doses were shipped to Virginia for this week.
While there are no specific times on when appointments are rolled out, more will become available as doses trickle in.
Walgreens is another major pharmacy partnered with the federal government to provide vaccines to 92 stores in Maryland.
Walgreens had stores selected if they weren't already a part of the a state and local program, had the proper number of pharmacists and certified technicians and prioritize underserved communities.
Both Walgreens and CVS were already chosen by the federal government to administer vaccines to long-term care facilities.
Through a state effort, other pharmacies such as Safeway, Giant and Rite-Aid are also able to provide vaccines but in even smaller amounts.
"I heard some pharmacies getting 20 doses for the week," Maryland Pharmacists Association Executive Director Aliyah Horton said. "We really think this next phase getting more pharmacies involved in the communities is the best way to go but we need more vaccines to make it work."
Horton urged officials to consider including more pharmacies to receive doses, much like what states such as West Virginia have done to improve vaccination rates.
"There are 3,300 pharmacists in Maryland that are able to immunize and they're not being utilized," she said.
DC, Delaware and West Virginia are among the states and territory not included in the current federal plan.