Pharmacy & Healthcare

Tackling a tough opponent takes teamwork

Walgreens pharmacists run defense against COVID-19, helping to vaccinate thousands at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

Tom Wall, Walgreens Stories

Matt Pruitt (center) and team members are sharing State Farm Stadium with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL to administer COVID-19 vaccines to members of the Arizona community.

The Arizona Cardinals might not have made the playoffs this year, but that doesn't mean that State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona hasn't seen its share of success this week.

While other NFL stadiums were hosting playoff games, with a limited number of fans cheering for touchdowns and field goals, Walgreens pharmacists were hard at work, administering thousands of vaccines to qualifying patients at the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale.

Jalpa Patel-Kar and Matt Pruitt, both healthcare supervisors in Phoenix, Ariz., have combined to score this touchdown for Walgreens with their efforts to get the mass vaccination site up and running.

“A lot of us working the clinic are big Cardinals fans,” says Pruitt. “Part of what’s so cool about doing this here at their stadium is that we feel like if we do our jobs and get everyone vaccinated, then maybe we can help the team play in front of a full crowd next season.”

The clinic, which has been open 24 hours a day and seven days a week since it began on January 11, has been averaging 6,000 shots per day, with the eventual goal of 12,000. 44,000 people booked appointments within the first seven hours they were available, and the clinic expects to book another 50,000 through the end of the month. As of January 14, Maricopa County (where the stadium is located) in Phase 1B of Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan – meaning that those eligible to take part in the clinic are those who work in essential services; who are 75 and older; or those with high-risk conditions who live in congregate settings.

Good football teams succeed because everyone on the team - from the quarterback to the running back - works together to get across the goal line. In this case, the goal line is 500 shots per hour, and the team is made up of Walgreens pharmacists working alongside the National Guard, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Arizona State University, Arizona state and local health deparments and nurses to help beat COVID-19.

See the play-by-play in the video below:

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