Coronavirus in NY: Pharmacists blast Walgreens, CVS for lack of protections
Pharmacists working at chain drug stores in the city are blasting Walgreens and CVS, saying the corporations have done little to protect their employees during the raging coronavirus pandemic.
A veteran pharmacist who has worked at a Staten Island Walgreens for more than 25 years told The Post the company has provided little guidance for coping with COVID-19.
She said Friday her store had yet to be deep-cleaned and there is no hand sanitizer for employees.
“Thousands of people are coming into the store and touching the pin-pads and there is nothing to clean them with,” said the pharmacist, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing her job.
“I don’t understand why doctors and nurses are having their temperatures taken before they go to a hospital, but there are no precautions for us who have to deal with sick people all day long.”
The pharmacist said she was worried that if an employee gets sick, “they will have to quarantine all of us and there will be no one left to work.”
Her fears were echoed in an online Facebook support group where pharmacists from across the country wrote about similar concerns at drug stores owned by Walgreens and CVS Health. The chains are by far the largest. There are 9,277 Walgreens stores and 9,967 CVS pharmacies across the country, serving millions of people.
“I am writing now to tell you that now more than ever, it is evident that Walgreens … cares about nothing more than profit,” said an anonymous pharmacist “in the trenches in NY” on the “Pharmacy Staff for COVID-19 Support” group on Facebook.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, I can honestly say that we have received ZERO guidance from the higher-ups and NOTHING has been done to help protect employees or our patients,” said the pharmacist, who claimed to have been working at a city Walgreens for the last five years.
“There are no extra hours allocated to sanitizing anything in the store or the pharmacy.”
But a spokeswoman for Walgreens, which also runs Duane Reade pharmacies, said that as of last week the company has started to reduce operating hours at their drug stores to allow for cleaning and stocking shelves.
“As the situation evolves, we are actively reviewing our policies, procedures and operations to promote the safety and well being of our team members and customers,” said spokeswoman Margaret Sheehan.
A spokesman for CVS Health told The Post Thursday that the company is “prioritizing” masks “for store and pharmacy employees in markets that have the highest incidences of COVID-19 diagnoses and we continue to work with suppliers to source additional masks in the face of never-before-seen disruptions to the medical supply chain.”
But the Staten Island pharmacist said only few things had changed at her location.
As of last Thursday, “the only steps they took was that they marked lines on the floor six feet apart so that customers could wait six feet apart on line in accordance with CDC guidelines.”
The company had not provided masks or sanitizer for employees, she told The Post.
Last week more than 6,200 pharmacists signed a change.org petition demanding that CVS and other chain pharmacies convert to drive-thru facilities during the pandemic.
“Like many other healthcare professionals, pharmacy employees are being put at risk with the coronavirus situation,” the petition said.
“Let’s get the corporate chains to do more than provide their employees with more than a few cans of Lysol.”
Filed under: General Problems
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