AmerisourceBergen Reaches Agreement with CDC to Support Independent Retail Pharmacies’ Access to COVID-19 Vaccine

AmerisourceBergen has reached an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to include Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Elevate Provider Network members in the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccination.

To support access, AmerisourceBergen will serve as a network administrator and place orders with the CDC on behalf of qualified and eligible Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Elevate Provider Network members. AmerisourceBergen will receive a direct allocation of COVID-19 vaccine for independent retail pharmacy customers once there is adequate supply of COVID-19 vaccine to support broader inoculation efforts and vaccination is recommended for individuals beyond the initial critical populations. COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed by the CDC’s central distributor.

“Independent community pharmacies have been fearless and have risen to every challenge that COVID-19 has presented this past year. Independent pharmacies are critical sites of care in their communities year-round and many Americans turn to their local pharmacy for a variety of immunizations annually,” said Brian Nightengale, President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. “We are beyond proud to help our independent pharmacies gain access to COVID-19 vaccine. They are already poised to join this next phase in the fight against the coronavirus and continue to support their communities.”

This effort will help jurisdictions augment access to COVID-19 vaccine when supply increases. With more than 90 percent of people living within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, pharmacies have unique reach and ability to provide access to COVID-19 vaccine and support broad vaccination efforts. This program will provide critical vaccination services for the U.S. population, with vaccine administered at community pharmacy locations at no cost to recipients. The program will be implemented in close coordination with jurisdictions to enable optimal COVID-19 vaccination coverage and vaccine access nationwide.

Good Neighbor Pharmacy is AmerisourceBergen’s independent community pharmacy network. As part of the network, thousands of independent community pharmacies across the nation leverage the unsurpassed industry knowledge of AmerisourceBergen business coaches, sales executives along with data and actionable insights to optimize their practice. Core programming within Good Neighbor Pharmacy focuses on augmenting an independent pharmacies’ in-store experiencing, marketing, managed care contracting and overall business performance. Elevate Provider Network is AmerisourceBergen’s pharmacy services administrative organization (PSAO). As a PSAO, Elevate Provider Network negotiates the most effective payer contracts for pharmacy members, helping them improve operational effectiveness and enhance patient care. The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Network, which includes Elevate, represents more than 4,100 independent community pharmacies nationwide.

For more information about Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Elevate Provider Network, please visit: https://www.amerisourcebergen.com/solutions-pharmacies/independent-pharmacies​