Pharmacists at CVS and Walgreens describe nerve-racking interactions with potentially infected customers as locations are overrun during the coronavirus pandemic
- As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, retail pharmacists are finding themselves on the front lines.
- Business Insider spoke with four retail pharmacists - two who work at CVS and two who work at Walgreens - who described dealing with more patients than ever with no protective gear and little-to-no guidance from their employers.
- Many pharmacies have not been able to provide their workers with protective gear because of a general shortage. Some have barred workers from wearing masks.
- "Pharmacies are a critical resource for communities across the country, and we'll continue to be here for customers and patients in these trying times," a CVS spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
- "Walgreens will remain firmly committed to following CDC guidance and making any changes necessary as recommended by the CDC as we learn more about COVID-19," a Walgreens spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
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As the coronavirus pandemic becomes increasingly severe, retail pharmacists are finding themselves in the trenches.
Business Insider spoke to four pharmacists from around the US - two working at CVS and two working at Walgreens - as well as a CVS customer service associate. All spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs, but their identities were verified by Business Insider.
These pharmacists described crowded waiting areas full of sick people and said that their companies had provided little guidance on how to keep staff and patients safe. Two described working 13-hour shifts with no bathroom breaks, while one described taking unpaid overtime shifts to handle the unprecedented volume. Two also reported shortages of some drugs.
On Sunday, March 22, Walgreens announced bonuses of $150 for part-time workers and $300 for full-time workers. It had previously reduced store hours on March 18. CVS updated its policies on Monday, March 23 to announce bonuses between $150 and $500 and additional benefits, including 24 hours of paid sick leave for part-time workers and up to 25 days of childcare for full-time and part-time workers.
Both chains said they would pay up to 14 days of sick leave for employees who are diagnosed with the coronavirus or placed under quarantine for exposure. Walgreens also said that it would pay any employees impacted by a mandatory quarantine of a store, office, or distribution center for the duration of their absence. Both chains are actively hiring new employees.
"Pharmacies are a critical resource for communities across the country, and we'll continue to be here for customers and patients in these trying times," a CVS spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
"Walgreens will remain firmly committed to following CDC guidance and making any changes necessary as recommended by the CDC as we learn more about COVID-19," a Walgreens spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
'I wiped down everything she touched'
Two pharmacists described close encounters with people who may have had the coronavirus.
In early March, a patient who had just been released from the hospital and was under quarantine orders came into a CVS store in New York's Hudson Valley, according to a pharmacist who works there. The patient sat in the crowded waiting area near the line of customers, and once she was at the counter, she admitted to the pharmacist that she was supposed to be under quarantine. She said that she wasn't able to drive herself and had someone drive her to the pharmacy.
"I wiped down everything she touched," the Hudson Valley pharmacist said. "But by the time I thought about wiping down her seat in the waiting area, someone else had already sat in it."
A CVS staff pharmacist based in central Virginia said that their store frequently deals with potentially infected people with no personal protective equipment. They said that they had served at least six patients the week of March 16 who said they had just come back from a cruise ship and had gone to the pharmacy to get their temperatures checked.
The day before, the Virginia pharmacist said, a patient with a fever came to the pharmacy. That patient told the pharmacist that they lived in the same house as a person who had tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Though the pharmacy frequently deals with high-risk patients, the Virginia CVS pharmacist said that the staff had not been provided gloves, masks, or gowns. At the in-store counters, pharmacy employees are separated from patients by a space of less than three feet.
Three pharmacists Business Insider spoke with, including the Virginia pharmacist, also said their employers prohibited staff from wearing their own protective gear.
Antonio Ciaccia, director of government and public affairs at the Ohio Pharmacists Association, told Business Insider in a phone interview that he received a report about a pharmacy chain in Ohio that told pregnant pharmacists they could not wear their own masks. Chains sometimes do this, he said, because they don't want customers to think the pharmacist is sick.
However, the CVS spokesperson said that workers are indeed allowed to wear their own masks.
"We're prioritizing distribution of protective gear to the hardest-hit areas of the country and we've accelerated the distribution of masks and gloves to health care practitioners in our stores as more supplies become available," they said. "We are not stocking any masks for sale in order to help address the shortage of available masks for healthcare providers."
'Why can't we tell patients to just use the drive-thru?'
While their Walgreens location does allow workers to wear their own protective gear, a New Jersey pharmacist expressed concerns about the reduction of hours at stores that were previously open 24 hours, saying that the change is likely to result in more crowding.
"Anybody who's sick goes to the pharmacy to get advice and supplies to treat their illness," they said. "So now you have a bunch of sick people in a crowded waiting room coughing and sneezing on each other."
Some Walgreens have drive-thrus, and the chain started offering free delivery for certain prescription medications earlier this month. However, the New Jersey pharmacist said, they feel the company hasn't done enough to encourage customers to use its drive-thru or free delivery services.
"We are actively reviewing our policies, procedures and operations to promote the safety and wellbeing of our team members and customers," said the Walgreens spokesperson. "We recently expanded our offering to additional products at the pharmacy drive-thru as our customers practice social distancing to fight the spread of COVID-19."
The CVS representative said that the chain has no plans to close its stores or change its hours of operation.
"However, we have waived prescription delivery service fees and are encouraging delivery or drive-thru use so that customers can get what they need without stepping foot in the store," they said.
It started offering free delivery on March 9.
Ciaccia said that while pharmacies should be prioritizing the safety of their staff, that's not always the case.
"I got a report from a pharmacist in Ohio that CVS was actually getting gloves and other protective equipment in supply. And even though the pharmacy was out of them, they were putting them on the shelves and selling them," he said.
Some drugs could become unavailable at certain pharmacies
The Virginia CVS pharmacist said that an increase in customers has resulted in some medications being unavailable at the pharmacy. Their pharmacy has seen shortages for Losartan, a blood pressure medication; Benzonatate, a cough medication; and some asthma inhalers.
A boom in medication hoarding also has the New Jersey Walgreens pharmacist worried about the availability of certain medications, such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which are used to treat chronic illnesses like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis but which some have speculated could be used to treat COVID-19. There has been no peer-reviewed data to suggest that chloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19, however.
The Walgreens spokesperson told Business Insider that many of its pharmacies are seeing an increase in prescriptions for those medications.
"To help ensure these medicines remain available for those who need it, Walgreens has issued guidelines to our pharmacies on any new prescription for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for patients who do not have a prior history of use," the Walgreens spokesperson said.
Three pharmacists told Business Insider that they have heard of doctors inappropriately prescribing those medications to friends and family. On Sunday, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy voted to prohibit providers from stockpiling those medications following a slew of complaints from pharmacists.
"I think that it goes without saying there will likely be some issues with supply and price here coming soon if the current trends keep going," Ciaccia said.
'We do have to look out for each other because we feel nobody else is looking after us'
A Walgreens staff pharmacist in the Seattle, Washington, area said that they were generally pleased with the company's pandemic-related communication and response.
However, the Seattle pharmacist said, pharmacies are being flooded with more patients than ever.
"It gets to the point where we're just pushing things out as fast as we can and we're not giving the individual attention that people deserve when it comes to their medications," said the Seattle pharmacist. "We do have to look out for each other because we feel like nobody else is looking after us."
"We are very focused on and committed to supporting our store team members and pharmacists, who are on the front lines as we navigate this difficult time in our country," the Walgreens spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that Walgreens employees who experience COVID-19 symptoms are being encouraged to stay home.
The Virginia CVS pharmacist says they've never had time for bathroom breaks. But since the pandemic started, customers have started coming in en masse to stock up on medication. Doctors and experts have advised people to stockpile medications so they are prepared in the event they are quarantined.
Moreover, the Virginia pharmacist said that as of March 20, they had received little information regarding the pandemic from CVS corporate.
"The only thing they said is they asked me if I'm willing to volunteer to cover any sick pharmacists," they said.
Although full-time pharmacists at CVS get 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, the Virginia pharmacist said that they weren't aware they had sick leave until a friend informed them of it more than a year after they had started.
When they got sick in the past, they still had to go into work until CVS found someone to take over their shift. Although they had sick leave, their manager did not give them permission to use it.
"Full-time CVS Health employees have always had access to paid sick leave," the CVS representative said. "Effective March 22, CVS Health has made 24 hours of paid sick leave available to part-time employees for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is in addition to the 14-day paid leave the company is providing for any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 or needs to be quarantined as a result of potential exposure."
The New Jersey pharmacist said that they're concerned that Walgreens is not taking enough steps to protect its employees and patients.
"If pharmacists start getting sick and can't go to work because they're not protected, then what's going to happen when you don't have enough healthcare professionals?" they said.
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