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WALGREENS

Free N95 masks on way to Valley pharmacies

Pharmacy chains in the Rio Grande Valley are preparing to rollout the distribution of free N95 masks this month or early February. The Biden Administration announced last week that it would make available some 400 million N95 mask following the recommendations by federal officials that N95 masks work better than cloth masks, the Associated Press reported. A Walgreens spokesperson on Tuesday said “We are pleased to partner with the Administration to make N95 masks in varying sizes available free of charge at participating Walgreens locations while supplies last. A spokesperson for CVS said, “Through our continued participation in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, we’ll be offering access to free N95 masks at CVS Pharmacy locations in the coming weeks as we receive supply from the Federal Government. We are proud to continue to serve our customers, members and associates now through N95 mask distribution as part of the US Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

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‘Walgreens fed my family’: inside the San Francisco stores closing over ‘retail theft’

The drugstores are at the center of debate over crime. But closures threaten an affordable staple of many communities A Walgreens in San Francisco’s historic Mission District is scheduled to close on 17 November. Photograph: Boris Zharkov/The Guardian In mid-October Walgreens announced the impending closure of five of its San Francisco stores. “Retail theft” had risen to unsustainable levels despite increased investment in security, the chain said. It was time to give up. In the months before th

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Governors applaud Biden's vaccine timeline, but need supply

In Virginia, state vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said the state could hit Biden’s goal earlier. But several governors cautioned it must come with a dramatic increase in vaccine supply. “It could be a delay for people to actually get a vaccine because of the operational constraints," she said. We can’t disappoint people who eagerly want a vaccine,” said Pat Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. Elsewhere, governors met Biden's goal with enthusiasm.

The Latest: Kentucky urges Black citizens to get vaccinated

Jim Thurman counts himself among the converts who recognize the importance of taking a COVID-19 vaccine. AdHealth authorities say first-generation COVID-19 vaccines still protect against variants of the virus that are emerging in different parts of the world. AdIn a separate announcement, Moderna also said it plans to manufacture 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine globally this year, up from 600 million. Bosnia, a country of 3.3 million, expects 1.2 million vaccines through COVAX. On Wednesday, Ghana has become the first country to receive COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX.

Anxiety grows as long-term care awaits COVID-19 vaccines

That includes both nursing homes, where residents get 24-hour-a-day medical care; assisted living facilities, where people generally need less help; and other types of group homes. In many places, home operators and residents' relatives have watched with frustration as states opened vaccine eligibility to other populations before the work in long-term care homes was finished. The government tasked CVS and Walgreens with administering the shots to long-term care locations in nearly every state. Severine Petras watched a COVID-19 outbreak develop at a Pennsylvania assisted living home her company operates a couple weeks before the first vaccines arrived. As of Sunday morning, 3.5 million doses have been given in long-term care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Walgreens taps Starbucks exec Brewer as its new CEO

FILE - Starbucks COO Roz Brewer talks about the proposed redesign of a Starbucks store in New Jersey as she speaks Wednesday, March 20, 2019, during the company's annual shareholders meeting in Seattle. Walgreens has tapped Roz Brewer as its new CEO, which will make her the only Black woman currently leading a Fortune 500 company. Brewer will take over as Walgreens CEO on March 15, 2021 after a little more than three years as Starbucks' chief operating officer. At Starbucks, Brewer revamped stores, taking out clutter and cutting down on administrative work so employees could focus on customers and speed up service. Prior to joining Starbucks, Brewer served as president and CEO of Sam’s Club, the members-only warehouse channel of Walmart Inc. She also grew membership and improved merchandise there.

States will start getting COVID-19 vaccine Monday, US says

Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states, said Army Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development program. Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. Perna compared the vaccine distribution effort to D-Day, the U.S.-led military offensive that turned the tide in World War II. The vaccine was timed to arrive Monday so health workers could receive the shots and begin giving them, Perna said. The announcement came after revelations that the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for delivery in the second quarter of 2021.

Vaccine rollout could ease crisis, but who gets it first?

In October, a panel advising the federal government suggested setting aside 10% of the vaccine supply to distribute as an extra boost to the states with greater shares of disadvantaged groups. Vulnerable people will face more rationing in states such as New Mexico that have higher shares of vulnerable people. The analysis shows 15 states and Washington, D.C., have the largest shares of vulnerable, low-income minorities. A federal set-aside is not the only way to get vaccine to vulnerable neighborhoods. In their vaccination plans, 18 states have said they will consider race and income as they map out vaccine distribution.

Amazon opens online pharmacy, shaking up another industry

The retail colossus opened an online pharmacy Tuesday that allows customers to order medication or prescription refills, and have them delivered to their front door in a couple of days. All have upped online services and touted their abilities to deliver prescriptions and other goods as the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more consumers to stay home. The company said its online pharmacy will offer commonly prescribed medications in the U.S., including creams, pills, as well as medications that need to stay refrigerated, like insulin. They can also get discounts at 50,000 physical pharmacies around the country at Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and other stores. Two years ago, it spent $750 million to buy online pharmacy PillPack, which organizes medication in packets by what time and day they need to be taken.

Man brandishing handgun robs South Side Walgreens, police say

SAN ANTONIO – A man in his 20s wielding a gun robbed a South Side Walgreens late Sunday night, San Antonio police said. Officers were called just before 10 p.m. to a Walgreens store in the 2700 block of Nogalitos Street, not far from West Theo Avenue, after receiving word of a robbery. According to police, the man entered the store and walked around briefly just before exiting and returning inside. That’s when, police said, the man placed some merchandise on the counter and showed the store clerk a gun in his waistband. Police said the man demanded money from the store clerk, took the cash and fled.

Feds planning now to get coronavirus shots to nursing homes

Under the voluntary program, trained staff from CVS and Walgreens would deliver the vaccines to each nursing home and administer shots. The nation has 15,000-16,000 nursing homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The use of retail chain pharmacies has prompted some concerns, because nursing homes typically deal with specialized pharmacies and not the big drugstores catering to consumers. Mango said the plan would accommodate nursing homes that want to continue to work with specialized pharmacies. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the program will “provide convenient and free vaccination to residents of nursing homes across America.”

Judge rejects pharmacy chains' bid to toss opioid suits

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)CLEVELAND Lawsuits filed by two Ohio counties against retail pharmacy chains claiming their opioid dispensing practices flooded communities with pain pills and were a a public nuisance can continue, a federal judge in Cleveland has determined. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster rejected the pharmacy chains' motion to dismiss the suits, ruling Thursday that the Ohio law does indeed apply to Lake and Trumbull counties' nuisance claims. Polster is overseeing more than 2,000 lawsuits filed by local governments, tribal authorities and others against companies they blame for fueling an opioid epidemic that has killed 430,000 people since 2000. The two northeast Ohio counties' lawsuits against CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and Giant Eagle were the first to target retail pharmacy chains as both distributors and dispensers of painkillers. Those claims seek damages from the retail chains as distributors of painkillers but not as dispensers.

Walgreens lost $1.7B in 3Q as global pandemic tightened grip

Walgreens quarter ended May 31, encapsulating a three-month period in which consumer activity came to a screeching halt. Walgreens furloughed more than 16,000 employees at the peak of the pandemic in the United Kingdom. Sales at its Boots stores there dropped nearly 28% on a constant currency basis. Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. slumped 9%, close to a new low for the year. The pandemic accelerated changes planned for its Boots stores, which includes closing optician locations and reducing staff at the U.K. support office.

Friday Freebies - Dec 20

Looking for some Christmas music to play during Christmas Eve gatherings or at Christmas dinner? Right now, you can download an album with 13+ hours of Christmas music for just 99 cents. If you want something a little different, Amazon does have some free songs available. Every five days, they are releasing a set of Christmas songs for you to download for free. If your child needs a little help believing in Santa, then why not have the jolly ole' elf send a video for you child.