NEW YORK/ LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walmart Inc is preparing to offer COVID-19 vaccinations in seven more states, as well as in Chicago and Puerto Rico, this week and next, a company spokeswoman told Reuters, expanding beyond the two states where its pharmacists are offering inoculations.
The move from the world’s largest retailer comes as U.S. President Joe Biden races to accelerate a frustratingly slow vaccination campaign that has stranded about half of the 38 million shots in freezers.
This week and next, Walmart will start providing inoculations in Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas as well as in Chicago, and Puerto Rico, the spokeswoman said.
Walmart is already vaccinating healthcare workers in New Mexico and its home state of Arkansas.
Reporting by Melissa Fares in New York and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Vanessa O’Connell and Jason Neely