Pharmaretailers, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA), and CVS Health Corp. (CVS) are closing down stores as the number of cases keeps breaking records in the country. The chains have reported massive staff shortages in the wake of the omicron spread.
Walgreen reported that the demand due to the superspreader strain of the virus is unlike anything it has seen before. Kris Lathan told CNN today, "While the vast majority of our stores are open and operating with normal business hours, the ongoing labor shortage combined with the surge of COVID-19 cases has resulted in isolated instances in which we've had to adjust operating hours or temporarily close a limited number of stores."
The company is going to close some stores after selecting days with the lowest prescription demands and will also funnel the pharmacy service to the nearest open Walgreens outlet.
CVS has also expressed a similar stance as they have also been understaffed severely. The stores will stay open for the entire week but will stay either on one or on both of the days of the weekend.
Executive Director of CVS Corporate Communications, Mike DeAngelis said, "a tiny fraction of stores are temporarily closed on one or both days of the weekend to help address acute staffing issues amidst both the omicron surge and the workforce shortage affecting nearly every industry and company."
The increasing threat of the strain has rendered the country crippled again with the hospitals completely filled with patients. In this situation, the closure of the pharmacies can prove to be disastrous. Mitchel Rothholz, chief of staff at the American Pharmacists Association had said, "It's a problem across the whole healthcare system, not just in pharmacy. but our members are dealing with this constantly now, because of the increased demand for testing as well as Covid vaccinations, people who are wanting to get the boosters or even getting their first doses."
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