Harris Teeter, Lyft offer rides to pharmacy COVID-19 shots

Harris Teeter has teamed up with rideshare company Lyft to provide customers transportation to COVID-19 vaccination appointments at its pharmacies.

The Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern grocer said Wednesday that under the partnership with Lyft Healthcare, Lyft’s medical transportation arm, customers can access free and discounted rides in selected market areas in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C., to a coronavirus shot at a Harris Teeter pharmacy.

After scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment online at a participating Harris Teeter pharmacy, customers receive a Lyft ride code with their appointment confirmation. The code will cover about $12 per ride to and from the appointment for both one-dose (Johnson & Johnson) and two-dose (Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) vaccines.

“Harris Teeter’s most urgent priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the health and safety of our shoppers and our valued associates,” Danna Robinson, communication manager for Harris Teeter, said in a statement. “We are immensely proud of the efforts our pharmacy teams have made to help reopen our communities through vaccination, and we are thrilled to enhance these efforts by partnering with Lyft to provide ride access to vaccine appointments in many of the areas where we operate stores.”

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Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter noted that the Lyft rides are part of the Lyft Vaccine Access Program and bolster the grocer’s efforts to vaccinate the communities it serves, especially people in medically underserved areas.

“Access to reliable transportation represents a major barrier to care for millions of Americans across the country, especially for vulnerable communities,” according to Megan Callahan, vice president of health care for San Francisco-based Lyft. “We’re proud to partner with Harris Teeter to address transportation barriers that will support equitable vaccine access for those who need it most.”

Part of The Kroger Co., Harris Teeter operates about 260 supermarkets — more than half of which contain pharmacies — in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.

Lyft describes Lyft Healthcare as one of the nation’s largest providers of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services, providing ride access to millions of patients who lack transportation. Its thousands of health care partners include nine of the top 10 NEMT managers, nine of the top 10 health systems, the top 10 health plans, large retail pharmacy chains and health care IT organizations, according to Lyft.

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