IRVING, Texas —  McKesson Corp. announced that 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.

Brian Tyler

“McKesson is committed to supporting public health in the U.S. and around the world,” said Brian Tyler, CEO of McKesson. “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.”

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.