CDC, Dollar General consider partnership for COVID-19 vaccine rollout

By Teddy Grant Published: March 10, 2021

CDC, Dollar General consider partnership for COVID-19 vaccine rollout

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2021, file photo, a man receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Martin Luther King Senior Center in North Las Vegas. The nation is poised to get a third vaccine against COVID-19, but health officials are concerned that at first glance the Johnson & Johnson shot may not be seen as equal to other options from Pfizer and Moderna. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

By: Teddy Grant

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is looking into collaborating with Dollar General stores to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations in rural areas.

“In rural areas, residents often don’t have access to big-box stores,” CDC director Rachel Walensky said on Tuesday at the Health Action Alliance’s virtual National Business Summit, according to USA Today. “We’re exploring a promising collaboration with Dollar General stores, which have locations that include refrigeration capacity within 10 or 15 miles of our rural communities in all but four states.”

Dollar General is one of the country’s largest retailers, with more than 16,000 locations, according to USA Today.

The company has pushed to get its workers vaccinated by offering four hours of pay to workers who receive their second dose of the vaccine, USA Today reported.

The push to get rural areas vaccinated has been a part of President Joe Biden’s administration’s plan.

The president is making $250 million in federal grants available to local governments that try to get the COVID-19 vaccinations in underserved communities, according to USA Today.