Feb. 24, 2021

Two weeks after beginning COVID-19 vaccinations, Lewis Drug has already innoculated thousands of patients, CEO Mark Griffin said.

“We’ve had more than our share of vaccine, and we’re utilizing it as efficiently as possible,” said Griffin, pointing to strong national relationships in helping Lewis secure doses as part of the federal government’s program to distribute doses through pharmacies.

The vaccine received by Lewis and other retail pharmacies such as Hy-Vee and Walmart is separate from the allocation given directly to the state and distributed through health systems.

Lewis mostly has received the Moderna vaccine, Griffin said.

“We’re not only utilizing the vaccine in Sioux Falls, but we’re reaching out to areas of South Dakota, Minnesota has asked us to come over and help there, and we’ve done some of that in nursing homes, but we have thousands and thousands of shots in arms already,” he said.

“Now, we’re going north and west into communities like Chamberlain, Aberdeen, Sisseton, all the way to the Missouri River and north to the border and south. We’re trying to cover a lot of geography and cover areas not covered by a lot of other health care.”

Lewis is distributing out of its storefronts in some communities and when requested to come to a market. A traveling team helps cover those needs, Griffin said.

“It’s a great public service and people are appreciative,” he said. “It’s a public service and one that our health care professionals – we call them Lewis health care heroes – really feel the commitment to perform.”

Lewis has set up a COVID vaccine line at 605-367-2345 that eligible patients can call to schedule a vaccine. There’s also a way to register online here.

“Some folks are a little gun-shy in terms of how to utilize websites, and it’s just easier to call, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve had a lot of success when we call or they call,” Griffin said.

While the weather held up some vaccine shipments last week, “the shipments are due to come in not only for us but most people Thursday and Friday, so that should be everybody back on track,” Griffin said.

On Tuesday, Hy-Vee announced it was receiving more vaccine than expected and it needs to be used in the next several days.

Hy-Vee has hundreds of COVID-19 vaccines available this week