CVS Health is pushing for pharmacy technicians to be allowed to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
The healthcare giant is hiring more than 10,000 full- and part-time pharmacy technicians in Q4 in anticipation of flu season, and urging for them to have an expanded scope of practice that would allow them to vaccinate patients for the novel coronavirus under supervision from an immunization-certified pharmacist.
CVS said that allowing technicians to administer vaccines would "help fill the urgent need to safely and quickly scale distribution of a vaccine and extend the capacity of the health care workforce to address the pandemic."
“Additional team members typically are needed every flu season,” said Lisa Bisaccia, chief human resources officer at CVS Health, in a statement. “However, we’re estimating a much greater need for trained pharmacy technicians this year given the continued presence of COVID-19 in our communities."
RELATED: CVS aims to have 4,000 drive-thru testing sites open by mid-October
CVS is currently deploying its pharmacy technicians to conduct COVID-19 testing, as well as for processing prescriptions, dispensing medications and educating customers or health professionals, under pharmacists' supervision.
CVS is also planning additional hires for a total of 15,000 jobs. Aside from the pharmacy technicians, the company is hiring pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, member benefit case professionals, and distribution center employees.
In addition, CVS is recruiting customer service representatives for its Caremark and specialty pharmacy business lines as work-from-home positions across a number of markets, with the goal of making jobs available to people looking to return to work amid the pandemic.
The company announced in March plans to hire 50,000 people as part of its response to COVID-19.
“By leveraging CVS Health’s innovation and technology, we can help get more Americans back to work from the convenience of their own homes, where they can contribute to the company’s ongoing efforts to help solve the country’s health care challenges,” said Jeffrey Lackey, vice president of talent acquisition at CVS Health, in a statement.