On Aug. 14, 2020, McKesson announced that it had expanded its existing partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to support Operation Warp Speed as a centralized distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies needed to administer vaccinations.

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.