On Aug. 14, 2020, a global leader in the healthcare industry, McKesson announced it will expand its existing partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to support the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) team as a centralized distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies needed to administer vaccinations. Vaccines and related supplies will be delivered to point-of-care sites across the country at the U.S. government’s direction.

The CDC has an existing contract with McKesson to support distribution as part of the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program (VFC). This contract was awarded to McKesson in a competitive bidding process initiated in 2016 and includes an option for distribution of vaccines in the event of a pandemic. McKesson will utilize its expertise and capabilities, along with other industry partners, to support the CDC’s efforts to vaccinate everyone in the U.S. who wants to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC and McKesson collaborated similarly in response to the H1N1 pandemic.

Beyond programs with the CDC, McKesson is the largest seasonal flu vaccine distributor in the U.S. and distributes up to 150 million doses of all vaccines annually to public health clinics, hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes, pharmacies and other care facilities.