New Program Offers COVID-19 Vaccines at Area Walgreens

by Paul Holley February 12th, 2021February 12th, 2021

MADISON – COVID-19 vaccines will be available at 178 Wisconsin Walgreens pharmacies, including eight in Racine starting Friday, according to the state Department of Health Services (DHS).

DHS officials cautioned that vaccine supplies are limited (approximately 100 doses per store location) and eligible residents are required to make advance appointments via the Walgreens website.

Groups eligible to get the vaccine in Wisconsin are frontline health care workers, police and fire personnel and correctional staff, residents in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, and residents age 65 and over.

Working through the new Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, the DHS and the drug store chain worked to have the COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped directly to Walgreens locations, primarily in areas of the states that are underserved in medical care.

The Racine County Walgreens in the program are:

3825 Durand Ave., Racine.
1920 Douglas Ave., Racine.
819 N. Memorial Drive, Racine.
4810 Washington Ave., Racine.
4901 Spring St., Mount Pleasant.
5005 Douglas Ave., Caledonia.
680 Milwaukee Ave., Burlington.
900 E. Main St., Waterford.

For the first week, the 178 Wisconsin sites will receive 17,800 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The DHS reported that these vaccine doses wouldn’t come out of the state’s weekly allocation directly from the federal government.

Walgreens reported that it would also be launching a call center for individuals to schedule appointments for those that may not have access to a computer. Details will be announced soon.

Also, the DHS reported Thursday that nearly one in three Wisconsinites aged 65 or over had received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In just under two months since the first vaccine arrived in Wisconsin, over 860,389 vaccinations have been given, with 197,362 Wisconsinites being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Our vaccine team and partners across the state have made significant progress in getting Wisconsin protected against COVID-19,” DHS Interim Secretary Karen Timberlake said in a news release. “It certainly is not a simple task, but their hard work has made it possible to distribute vaccine in a safe, quick, and equitable manner. I also want to thank everyone in Wisconsin for their patience as we continue to accelerate our vaccine efforts.”