MAINE, USA — Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew announced Tuesday that 24 Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies in Maine will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine through the U.S. Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
Lambrew said more than 1,000 Walmart stores in 22 states are receiving federal vaccine allocations this week, separate from and on top of the allotment states receive each week, with an emphasis on underserved communities.
The U.S. CDC says the program will begin with per capita allocations by each jurisdiction that will be divided among the selected pharmacy partners based on the number of stores and reach. As the program expands, and supply becomes more readily available, the U.S. CDC says allocation may be adjusted to reflect partner size (number of store locations nationwide), reach (percent of the total U.S. population living within 5 miles of a store location), and ability to vaccinate (throughput).
"This partnership coupled with an increasing supply of vaccines from the federal government will help us save the lives of Maine people most at risk of suffering and dying from COVID-19 and get our state back to normal," Lambrew added.
In total, there will be 24 sites in Maine.
Here is a complete list of locations:
According to Lambrew, eligible Maine residents can schedule a vaccine appointment starting Tuesday evening via the Walmart and Sam's Club's websites. Lambrew said the sites will be open beginning Friday.
Maine is currently in Phase 1b of the vaccination plan, with some overlap continuing from Phase 1a. As of early February, only older Mainers – those 70 and older – qualify for vaccination in Phase 1b.
Cumulatively across Maine, 200,927 vaccine doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Tuesday morning. Of those, 145,894 have been first doses and 55,033 have been second doses.
According to Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah, 15 percent of Maine people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Just over four percent of Mainers have received both doses.