CVS Pharmacy on Tuesday announced it is pushing back the start date for its COVID-19 vaccination program at California stores to Friday to ensure sufficient supplies of doses. The program was originally scheduled to launch Thursday.
The pharmacy chain will be administering COVID-19 vaccines at 100 locations across California, including in at least three Bay Area communities, as part of an 11-state rollout, the company announced last week.
The vaccinations will be provided only to eligible populations and only by appointments, which will now be available for booking by Thursday, the company said. The original first date for making appointments was Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Among the Bay Area locations are those in Sunnyvale, San Francisco and Sonoma. The company said it plans to expand the program to more locations with the goal of administering 20 million to 25 million shots a month across the U.S.
Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS customer service at 800-746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided.
Other California locations include those in Agoura Hills, Bakersfield, Carmel, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Clovis, Eureka, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Jolla, Los Angeles, Modesto, Monterey, Newport Beach, San Diego, Ventura and Yuba City.
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CVS is not providing a full list of locations because active stores will change regularly based on vaccine supply, the company said.
The initial rollout in California is limited to about 81,900 doses, CVS said.