CVS projects first round of vaccine doses in skilled nursing homes to be completed by Jan. 25

Shares of CVS Health Corp. /zigman2/quotes/209664499/composite CVS -0.75% were down 1.0% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the drugstore chain said it plans to give the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines in roughly 8,000 skilled-nursing facilities in 49 states by Jan. 25. The program allows both residents and employees of the facilities to get one of the two authorized COVID-19 vaccines right now; both groups are considered by the U.S. government to be at high risk of contracting the coronavirus. "We're dealing with a vulnerable population that requires onsite and, in some cases, in-room visits at facilities with fewer than 100 residents on average," CVS CEO Larry Merlo said in a statement. "Despite these challenges we remain on schedule, and the number of vaccines we administer will continue to rise as more facilities are activated by the states." CVS said it also plans to publish its national and state vaccination figures every day at 4 p.m. ET. Shares of CVS have dropped 4.6% over the last year, while the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -0.66% is up 15.2%.