By next week, there could be two COVID-19 vaccines approved for widespread use in the U.S. if the FDA signs off on the Moderna vaccine.
While the first doses are going to frontline healthcare workers and residents in long-term care facilities, pharmacies are preparing for their roles in the next waves of vaccinations.
CVS Health is expecting to provide the vaccinations to 45,000 long-term care and nursing facilities in the next wave, so the pharmacy chain is now putting out the call for about 15,000 new employees with over 200 in the Sacramento region alone.
The openings include pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses, and the chain is even offering to train and license new employees to give vaccinations.
"Giving injections is plenty straightforward, but you have to know what you’re doing, right? You don’t want to stick yourself with the needles, you don’t want to create problems. And the record keeping has to be meticulous for something like this," explains UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford.
He said being a frontline healthcare worker is not for everyone, but it is an interesting proposition for people with medical backgrounds.
Another possible source of staffing would be fourth year pharmacy students, who could use the experience as part of their training.
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