Irving-based McKesson Corporation has been selected to be a centralized distributor of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, working with the Centers for Disease Control in support of Operation Warp Speed, a federal government program to deliver treatment and ancillary supplies.
“McKesson is committed to supporting public health in the U.S. and around the world,” said Brian Tyler, CEO of McKesson voa release. “Since the onset of the pandemic, McKesson has leveraged our deep expertise to help maintain the integrity of the healthcare supply chain, source and distribute personal protective equipment to frontline workers and stand up COVID-19 testing at Health Mart pharmacies, many in underserved communities. We are honored that the U.S. government has asked McKesson to play a key role in the effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.”
Operation Warp Speed is a collaborative effort between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense that also works with private firms and other federal agencies to speed up the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 treatment, diagnostics, and vaccines.
The CDC already had a contract with McKesson for the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program that was initiated in 2016, and the agreement includes a pandemic vaccine option. The CDC and McKesson also worked together with the during the H1N1 pandemic. McKesson is also the largest distributor in the U.S. for the flu vaccine, and distributes 150 million doses of all vaccines each year to healthcare facilities.
