Dollar General may partner with CDC to speed up vaccine rollout

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Dollar General could be the next retailer to have COVID-19 vaccines for the public.

The talks come amid concern that Americans who live in rural areas who don’t have access to big box stores will not get vaccinated.

Dollar General has 16,000 locations, that’s about three times the number of locations as Walmart and more than half as many as CVS and Walgreens.

USA Today reported that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said, “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.”

No further details have been released about the partnership at this time.

Dollar General recently announced it would give staff members four hours of pay to get vaccinated.

Walgreens, CVS and Walmart are among the biggest providers of the vaccinations yet appointments are going unfilled at CVS in Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana, according to KHN.