(Reuters) - U.S. pharmacy chain CVS Health Corp on Monday said it will hire 15,000 employees in the fourth quarter of this year as the onset of winter could fuel a resurgence in the spread of COVID-19 and flu cases. More than 10,000 of the additional employees will be full- and part-time licensed pharmacy technicians at its pharmacy locations and could help administer COVID-19 vaccines and tests. News of additional hiring was first reported by CNBC. The current hirings are incremental to the company’s recruiting efforts announced in March. In March, the drugstore chain said it was hiring 50,000 employees across the United States to assist patients and customers battling the coronavirus outbreak. (reut.rs/35ghr72) Last week, the U.S. government signed agreements with CVS and Walgreens Boot Alliance to administer COVID-19 vaccines to residents of all long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, residential care homes and adult family homes. U.S. public health officers have been drafting plans on how to distribute a coronavirus vaccine if and when it is authorized. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had set an Oct. 16 deadline for states to submit plans for distributing vaccines.