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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates

AmerisourceBergen and our global pharmaceutical healthcare businesses are monitoring the ongoing spread of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

As an active participant in the global pharmaceutical supply chain, we’re engaged with government and healthcare officials as these agencies and experts closely monitor the spread of COVID-19. We have business continuity plans that include our global workforce and our teams are in daily communications with manufacturers, monitoring inventory levels and customer purchasing behavior for any potential impact to the product supply chain.

We will continue to be highly engaged as the situation evolves on a day-to-day basis and will post updates here for our customers. 

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant, B.1.1.529, as a Variant of Concern (VOC) and named it Omicron. On November 30, 2021, the United States also classified it as a VOC. Currently two variants, Omicron and Delta, are classified as Variants of Concern (VOC) in the United States.

AmerisourceBergen continues working under the guidance of the federal and state governments and state public health departments for the distribution of monoclonal antibody drugs.

  • The increased incidence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 caused a substantial surge in the utilization of monoclonal antibody drugs, particularly in areas of the country with low vaccination rates.
  • To ensure consistent availability of these critical drugs for current and future patients in all geographic areas of the country, HHS has updated the distribution process for mAbs.

At AmerisourceBergen, we are committed to the safety of our team members and to ensuring business continuity for our healthcare customers and partners. Our teams continue to meet regularly to assess the situation to ensure we are taking the necessary steps to reduce impact to your patients.

As of Monday, September 13:

  • HHS transitioned from the direct ordering process to a state/territory-coordinated distribution system, similar to that used from November 2020 – February 2021.
  • Administration sites no longer order directly from AmerisourceBergen.
  • Weekly distribution amounts for each state/territory will be determined by HHS based on weekly reports of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in addition to data on inventories and use submitted in HHSProtect.
  • State/Territorial Health Departments will determine where product goes in their jurisdictions. 
  • All prior requests have been sent to each respective department of health’s team for review and resubmission against weekly allocations.

We thank you for your continued support and efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

AmerisourceBergen Reaches Agreement with U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Support Independent Community Pharmacies’ Access to COVID-19 Vaccine

As announced on 11/6, AmerisourceBergen has reached an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to include Good Neighbor Pharmacy and the Elevate Provider Network members in the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccination.

To support access, AmerisourceBergen will serve as a network administrator and place orders with the CDC on behalf of qualified and eligible Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Elevate Provider Network members. AmerisourceBergen will receive a direct allocation of COVID-19 vaccine for independent retail pharmacy customers once there is adequate supply of COVID-19 vaccine to support broader vaccination efforts. COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed by the CDC’s central distributor.

“Independent community pharmacies have been fearless and have risen to every challenge that COVID-19 has presented this past year. Independent pharmacies are critical sites of care in their communities year-round and many Americans turn to their local pharmacy for a variety of immunizations annually,” said Brian Nightengale, President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. “We are beyond proud to help our independent pharmacies gain access to COVID-19 vaccine. They are already poised to join this next phase in the fight against the coronavirus and continue to support their communities.”

This effort will help jurisdictions augment access to COVID-19 vaccine when supply increases and the vaccine is recommended for individuals beyond the initial critical populations. With more than 90% of people living within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, pharmacies have unique reach and ability to provide access to COVID-19 vaccine and support broad vaccination efforts. This program will provide critical vaccination services for the U.S. population, with vaccine administered at community pharmacy locations at no cost to recipients. The program will be implemented in close coordination with jurisdictions to ensure optimal COVID-19 vaccination coverage and vaccine access nationwide.

Read the press release here.

Update on the Distribution of Veklury® (Remdesivir) from Gilead Sciences

Effective October 1, 2020, Veklury (remdesivir) will no longer be allocated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and State Departments of Health. This change is possible given that there is now sufficient supply of Veklury (remdesivir) to meet demand, even if a surge of COVID-19 cases occurs.

Starting October 1, 2020, hospitals can submit orders for Veklury (remdesivir) directly to AmerisourceBergen for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. With this change, AmerisourceBergen, through its specialty distribution capabilities, will remain the sole U.S. distributor of Veklury (remdesivir) through the end of this year.  It is important to note that orders should be placed on an as needed basis to treat current patients in accordance with EUA documentation for Veklury (remdesivir).


For further information on the EUA remdesivir,  please see HHS’ October 1, 2020 announcement available at https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/10/01/veklury-remdesivir-available-directly-distributor-following-trump-administrations-successful-allocations.html. 
 
Retail and specialty pharmacies are not eligible to purchase Veklury (remdesivir).

  • For additional information regarding purchasing or how to access Veklury (remdesivir), please email remdesivir@amerisourcebergen.com, or call 1-800-746-6273 or reach out directly to your AmerisourceBergen representative.
  • For information on clinical trials that are testing the use of remdesivir in COVID-19, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
  • For additional medical information about Veklury (remdesivir), please visit https://www.askgileadmedical.com/remdesivir/ or call 1-866-MEDI-GSI (1-866-633-4474) Monday – Friday, 6am – 4pm PT.

We will update this message if/when additional information becomes available.