OHA and pharmacies in Oregon providing COVID-19 vaccines confirmed that pharmacies in Oregon can continue to serve Oregonians age 65 years and older.  

Earlier this month the Biden administration set a goal to reopen the nation’s schools by having all educators, childcare workers and other education staff receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by the end of March. However, Oregon had authorized the state’s estimated 152,000 K-12 education workers, childcare providers and early learning workers to be eligible starting Jan. 25.  

Oregon has been granted an exemption by the administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to allow pharmacies to vaccinate older adults.  

Five pharmacy chains in Oregon are participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program and receive COVID-19 vaccines at 175 locations around the state. This includes 107 Safeway/Albertsons locations, 44 Walgreens stores, 13 Costco pharmacies, eight Health Marts and three Rite-Aids. 

You can read the news release for more details.

This article first appeared in the March 11, 2021 issue of Oregon Coronavirus Update.