Walgreens partners with DoorDash to deliver COVID-19 medication free
Walgreens and DoorDash are jointly responding to a call for COVID-19 action from President Biden.
The drugstore giant and online delivery platform are launching a new initiative to facilitate free home delivery of prescriptions of Paxlovid, an oral COVID-19 medication administered to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death infection. This effort follows a public call from President Joe Biden for consumers and retailers to take action to halt the spread of COVID-19.
Through this new program, consumers with a prescription for Paxlovid being filled at Walgreens will be able to have their medication delivered directly to their homes through DoorDash at no additional cost. Eligible consumers will be able to access free same-day delivery of Paxlovid via Walgreens.com and the Walgreens app, with contactless delivery powered by the DoorDash Drive white-label fulfillment platform.
Walgreens first added DoorDash as an on-demand delivery partner in summer 2020, when online delivery volumes as a whole were rising to meet the needs of consumers homebound by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walgreens is also available on DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service that offers members unlimited free delivery fees and reduced service fees. DashPass members can leverage these benefits on orders of products from Walgreens of $12 or more.
This collaboration is the latest service Walgreens has provided to help combat the pandemic. The retailer partners with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and life sciences firm Labcorp to make Pixel by Labcorp COVID-19 at-home collection kits available nationwide, at no cost to consumers who meet clinical guidelines for requiring a COVID-19 test.
In addition, the company provides the Walgreens COVID-19 Index. Data captured in the Walgreens COVID-19 Index can track the spread of the Omicron variant within 24 to 48 hours. In addition to a national view, data can be reviewed by state.
Other examples include Walgreens’ partnering with Uber to provide free rides to Walgreens stores and offsite vaccine clinics for members of underserved communities to receive COVID-19 vaccinations since February 2021.
Meanwhile, other COVID-19 remediation efforts from DoorDash include teaming up with Vault Health and Everlywell to begin facilitating same-day delivery of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test collection kits across the U.S. in spring 2021. Consumers now have access to two COVID-19 home collection kits that received FDA emergency use authorization via on-demand delivery from DoorDash's DashMart online convenience storefronts across the nation.
“DoorDash is proud to again respond to the White House’s call to action and partner with Walgreens to expand access to life-saving COVID-19 treatments ahead of the winter months,” said Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, Vice President of Communications & Policy at DoorDash. “The pandemic has shown the urgent need for collaboration across the public and private sectors, and we look forward to working with our partners at Walgreens to ensure that those who need these critical COVID-19 treatments can access them in an equitable way.”