Starting Monday, San Diego County senior care facilities will see a boost in COVID-19 vaccinations with the launch of a massive vaccination program by CVS and Walgreens, the nation's two largest drugstore chains.
The companies were chosen by the Trump administration to administer vaccinations in long term care facilities and eventually vaccinate the general public. For this huge undertaking, CVS is looking to hire more than 100 additional pharmacists and technicians.
CVS did not provide specific numbers for San Diego, but company officials said 15,000 care facilities in California are part of a nationwide program that will administer vaccines to as many as 700,000 long term care residents in the coming months. In California, CVS pharmacists will be using the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
"We're very excited and eager to help bring normalcy back, allow for the long term care residents to really feel what it's like to go back to being able to hug and touch and see relatives," Lisa Kalajian, a licensed pharmacist and district leader for CVS Health, said.
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Kalajian said CVS expects to begin offering COVID-19 vaccines to the general public in March or April but added that the timeline is fluid.
Kalajian joined Midday Edition on Monday with more on plans to vaccinate nursing home and long term care residents.
