CVS

It could amount to the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the industry's role in an overdose crisis linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

The policy started the first week in July in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Texas. CVS is asking care providers to help by including a diagnosis on the prescription.

The settlements left Walgreens as the sole defendant in a lawsuit that targeted businesses involved in all aspects of the opioid industry. A Pasco County judge is scheduled to begin jury selection next week.

The closures will begin in the spring of 2022, according to a CVS release.

The company hires additional employees every year to help out with flu season, but the demand is even higher with COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster shots.

Across the state, rates for the vaccines required for children to enter classrooms and child care are down. That could be a problem for families that opted to wait because of COVID-19.

According to Cathy Bedy, a licensed clinical social worker at a CVS in Seminole, telehealth can provide services within 24 hours of the request. It's valuable time saved when people are reaching out for help.

The sweepstakes launches June 1 with weekly drawings and more than 1,000 potential prizes for customers who get COVID shots through CVS or register for them.

More than 200,000 doses of COVID vaccine have gone to waste since December, KHN has learned. Two national pharmacy chains account for most of it.

As the number of people seeking therapy soars during the pandemic, CVS has begun testing a model to offer counseling services at stores in the greater Tampa Bay region, Houston and Philadelphia.

His announcement comes after CVS Pharmacy said it would follow President Joe Biden's less restrictive directive to vaccinate school employees regardless of age.

CVS Health debuted its HealthHUB concept in Florida this week with nine Tampa Bay locations that include the urgent care MinuteClinics.The pharmacy giant…