Albertsons Cos. Ups Pharmacy Offerings During Ongoing Pandemic

With the Delta variant pushing COVID-19 cases higher across the country, Albertsons Cos. has introduced several offerings that will help empower its customers to stay healthy.

“With these enhancements, we are proud to be able to offer local communities new resources to help keep them safe and make informed decisions about their health as we continue to navigate through this public-health crisis together,” said Omer Gajial, Albertsons Cos.’ SVP of pharmacy and health.

One of the new offerings is over-the-counter rapid COVID-19 testing for purchase at the retailer’s pharmacies. These self-administered tests are a product of Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test and can be used by individuals with or without symptoms who may have been exposed to COVID-19. Antigen tests can be used on children as young as 2 years old, when administered by an adult.

Each test kit includes two nasal swabs and easy-to-follow instructions. The swabs are intended to be administered within 48 to 72 hours of one other. Results for symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals are available in as little as 15 minutes.

Albertsons Cos. is also offering a free digital vaccine record that can be downloaded and saved to a digital device. Customers who completed their COVID-19 vaccine at an Albertsons Cos.’ pharmacy will receive an email in the next few days with detailed instructions on how to access their digital vaccine record. This information will also be shared with anyone receiving the vaccine in the future at one of the company’s pharmacy locations.

To date, Albertsons Cos. has administered 6 million COVID-19 vaccinations through its 1,700 pharmacies nationwide.

To make locating a vaccine appointment easier, Albertsons Cos. and Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna have teamed up to sponsor a COVID-19 vaccine map on Nextdoor. Customers are then redirected from Nextdoor to the Albertsons Cos. scheduling tool to arrange an appointment, receive a confirmation and get the second dose scheduled, all in under three minutes.

And for customers who need a ride to their vaccine appointments, Albertsons Cos. is partnering with San Francisco-based Lyft to offer discounted rides. When customers make a vaccination appointment at https://www.albertsons.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html they will receive a Lyft discount code in their appointment confirmation email. Lyft discounts aren’t available in New York or New Jersey. Customers who get vaccinated at an eligible Albertsons Cos. pharmacy will also get a 10%-off coupon for grocery purchase, up to $200.

Pharmacies participating in these programs include Safeway, Vons, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen and Carrs.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates 2,277 retail stores with 1,725 pharmacies, 400 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities. The company’s stores predominantly operate under the Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Kings Food Markets and Haggen banners. Albertsons is No. 8 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.