Rumors have been swirling around which stores and spaces will be repurposed as COVID vaccination sites, from Whole Foods to London nightclubs. And this morning, we learned that people might be lining up for their vaccines at the Apple Genius Bar. CBS News reported that Apple will make a big announcement tomorrow, January 13. According to CBS, the forthcoming announcement is not product-related and will have a major impact on the general public.
People have been speculating that Apple Stores will be used to administer COVID vaccinations, and, according to our data, they're perfectly positioned for the task.
On the above map, the shaded regions represent areas with large percentages of people with COVID symptoms. The yellow dots are Apple stores. Store locations are largely concentrated where COVID symptoms have been reaching record highs— the northeast, southeast, upper midwest, California. The United States has woefully underperformed its vaccination targets so far. Only about 9 million Americans have received the vaccination thus far, underperforming the CDC's target to have 20 million people vaccinated by the end of 2020. President-elect Joe Biden has announced a drive to have 100 million Americans vaccinated during his first 100 days in office, which will require dozens of new sites to be opened around the country.
If Apple stores do indeed become vaccination centers, that would likely have a positive impact on what has been one of the biggest blockers so far in the distribution chain — getting the vaccine from freezers into peoples' arms.
CBS This Morning teased the interview with Tim Cook, which Gayle King conducted at an Apple Store. "What we're going to tell you about tomorrow, it's very exciting news," King says. "[Cook is] a very strong business leader who deeply cares about this country ... and wants to do good." Watch the full clip below.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.