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CVS hiring in Northeast Ohio to help deliver COVID-19 vaccinations, even without previous medical experience

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Posted at 10:00 AM, Jan 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-20 18:36:52-05

CLEVELAND — CVS is hiring thousands of workers with experience in any industry as part of its effort to bulk up its own staff ahead of COVID-19 vaccinations to the general public.

The coronavirus decimated many businesses and industries when Americans were told to stay out of public and remain socially-distanced.

With the COVID vaccine gradually becoming available to the public, pharmacies at stores like CVS, Walgreens, Giant Eagle and Marc’s, just to name a few, are all being asked to deliver the COVID vaccine to the general public.

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CVS locations with pharmacies are planning to deliver COVID vaccines to the general public once there is enough supply.

CVS set out a few months ago to initially hire 15,000 new workers to help administer vaccines and fill in for existing staff who would be traveling to nursing homes and long-term care facilities in all 50 states.

Across the nation, CVS data shows it’s already delivered more than a million of those doses to staff and patients, with more than 63,000 in Ohio alone.

To do it, CVS’ Vice President of Talent Acquisition Jeff Lackey says the company needs workers and they’re taking anyone who is interested, even if they don’t have any previous medical experience.

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Vaccines aren't available yet to at CVS locations in Ohio.

“We’ll provide the training and not only the certification to be a [pharmacy] technician but also the immunization training for those individuals,” said Lackey. “If supervised by a pharmacist, they can provide the immunization [to patients] themselves.”

Even though unemployment numbers have dropped from their spikes in the early months of the pandemic, Lackey says some types of workers still need a hand so CVS is crating programs to help them specifically.

“From other industries, airline and hospitality, to try to get folks in and understand that there may be a career for you [at CVS],” said Lackey. “It may be a store associate but it may be a pharmacy tech.”

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CVS employees have been part of the nationwide effort to vaccinate medical workers and long-term care facility staff and residents.

Lackey says part of those partnerships is allowing furloughed workers from other industries to work at CVS while they are out of work, but go back to their original company if they have the opportunity to get hired back.

Just in the Greater Cleveland area, CVS says it has nearly 250 positions open including pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, retail store associations, and shift supervisors.

Those jobs are in Cleveland, Bay Village, Bedford, Chagrin Falls, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Parma, Solon, University Heights and Woodmere.

If you’re interested in applying for a job at CVS Health, click here.

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