Kroger reveals plans to provide 1 million COVID-19 booster jabs: Report

Kroger, one of America’s grocery chains, is planning to administer one million COVID-19 booster shots every week once they are already available. The retail company will complete the administration by carrying out the task every week.

Fox Business reported that Kroger would also be offering booster jabs to individuals confined in nursing homes or residents who cannot come out of their abodes. The number of booster shots that the company is planning to provide is double the number it delivered for the first doses of the coronavirus vaccines at the height of the pandemic.

"When the vaccine first came out, we were not included in the long-term care facility deployment, but it's great this time that we can be a part of that," Kroger Health president, Colleen Lindholz, said in a statement. "We've reached out to facilities that we already deliver prescriptions to, or where we've done flu shot clinics in the past."

It should be noted, though, that the booster shots have yet to be approved by the USFDA for distribution. At this time, there are people who have been listed as eligible for the third dose or booster shot of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech. Then again, the health agency is expected to give a go signal for the boosters, and these may be available to the public by September.

As per Reuters, the government is aiming to make the third COVID-19 vaccine jabs available by Sept. 20 if the FDA gives it an all-clear. Aside from Kroger, it was reported that other retailers, including Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS Health, are also likely to take part in delivering the boosters to eligible Americans.

Meanwhile, Kroger Company is expecting the large portions of the boosters to be dispensed around the last part of November until January 2022. The retail company said that this schedule coincides with the holiday shopping season.

Colleen Lindholz said that they know it could get chaotic with the holidays, but they are doing everything to work with the Advisory Council on Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to carry out the task accordingly.