Walmart Inc., which already gives covid-19 vaccinations at a few pharmacies in Arkansas and New Mexico, will offer them in seven more states, as well as in Chicago and Puerto Rico, this week and next, a Walmart spokesman confirmed Friday.
Walmart currently vaccinates health care workers at pharmacies in Arkadelphia, Ashdown, West Memphis and El Dorado, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
"We do expect to continue and expand our partnership with Walmart to provide vaccinations to targeted groups," a department spokesman said Friday. But he added that the agency doesn't have any specifics.
Walmart said in December that it was inoculating health care workers at a few New Mexico stores and preparing to offer vaccinations at its more than 5,000 U.S. store and club pharmacies.
Now the Bentonville-based retailer is expanding its vaccination program to Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas.
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In addition, Alabama newspaper portal AL.com said Walmart and state health officials are working out the details of a partnership that will have the retailer's pharmacies providing vaccinations there. Alabama's top health officer, Scott Harris, said a timeline has not been set but is expected to be soon.
Walmart is "supporting states at select stores and clubs as states roll out the vaccine to specific population groups as determined by the state," the company said Friday in a statement it first gave to Reuters.
On Tuesday, the same Walmart spokesman referred a Arkansas Democrat-Gazette question about its vaccine rollout plans to a company blog that had last been updated on Dec. 23 by Walmart's chief medical officer, Dr. Tom Van Gilder.
A new post on Friday by Dr. Cheryl Pegus, Walmart's new executive vice president of health and wellness, didn't mention the expanded rollout. She said that at full capacity, the company expects to be able to deliver up to 13 million doses a month "when supply and allocations allow."
"As we look to a future when supply can meet demand and more people are eligible to receive the vaccine, we plan to offer the vaccine seven days a week at our pharmacies, through planned vaccination clinics and through large community events," she said.
Pegus added that Walmart is "strongly encouraging" its employees to get vaccinated, but is not mandating it or providing incentives "at this time."
In Louisiana, Walmart already was giving the shots at its pharmacies in 13 cities as of Friday, according to that state's health department. A map on the department's covid-19 dashboard showing the areas of highest risk covers the entire state. Louisiana has recorded 8,483 deaths from the virus.