Walmart debuted a nationwide pharmacist training program Dec. 1 for educating its staff on HIV prevention and treatment strategies, which is part of the chain's partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Durham, N.C.-based Duke University designed the program, which is engineered to help bring HIV therapies to the 400,000 Americans who live with HIV but are not on regular treatment schedules — accounting for a third of people living with HIV in the U.S., according a news release.
Only 13 states allow pharmacists to administer pre- and postexposure prophylaxis — commonly known as PrEP and PEP — according to Walmart, and it supports efforts to spread this role to the national stage as the chain also launches four more HIV-focused specialty pharmacies.