One-Third of Rural Counties Lack a Pharmacy Listed in Coronavirus Vaccination Plan
Nearly one-third of rural counties do not have a pharmacy participating in the federal government’s coronavirus vaccination program, according to a new study from the Rural Policy Research Institute’s Center for Rural Health Policy and Analysis. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will partner with large pharmacy chains such as Rite Aid, Walgreens, and other expansive networks that represent 60 percent of pharmacies nationwide. However, the study found that 750 of the 1,962 nonmetropolitan counties in the study do not have a pharmacy listed in the distribution partnership. Researchers estimate that the population of those rural counties is nearly 5.6 million people.