Retail pharmacists say they are overworked and burned out due to short-staffing and the increased demand for COVID-19 shots

covid vaccine empty pharmacy — An empty vaccine waiting area at a Walgreens in Miami Beach, Florida.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Six current and former pharmacists told Insider about their experiences during the pandemic.
Pharmacists described feeling stretched thin distributing medications and COVID-19 vaccines.
Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid say they are recruiting more workers to meet increased demand.

In August 2021, Bled Tanoe was working as pharmacy manager in an Oklahoma Walgreens when she saw morale was flagging among her staff. She told them she would bring in pizza to perk the team up, when she realized a free pizza was nowhere near what she would need to fix the situation for her overworked staff.

“The state of pharmacies right now is beyond gift cards, jeans, or free pizza,” she told Insider, referencing some of the things companies have offered to pharmacists this year. That day, she went home and posted her reflections under the hashtag “pizzaisnotworking.” When she woke up the next morning, she was shocked to see it had been reposted over 500 times by other pharmacists sharing their own experiences.

“I was grateful for the support, but very sad that so many people in the industry felt this way,” she told Insider.

Insider spoke to 6 current and former pharmacists at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Clinicians said they experienced burnout from high workloads and did not receive adequate support from the pharmacies to handle increased workload from COVID-19 vaccines.

Walgreens locations in Idaho recently shortened pharmacy hours due to lack of staff. Pharmacy patients said they experienced longer wait times at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart locations in Indiana, Colorado, Kentucky, and Connecticut, according to local news reports.

The problem worsened as more people became eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Food and Drug Administration authorized a Pfizer jab for kids aged 5 to 11 last month, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended all adults get a booster shot once eligible.

“We are endlessly proud of Rite Aid pharmacists and pharmacy techs, as well as their peers at retail pharmacies across the country, for their integral role in the battle against COVID-19,” Rite Aid Chief Pharmacy Officer Jocelyn Konrad told Insider in a statement, noting that the company is “aggressively recruiting” new hires.

A Walgreens representative recently told Insider the company was recruiting pharmacists in the fall to support demand for COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, and flu shots. The company raised its minimum wage for hourly workers to $15 this August, and offered technicians who become certified to administer flu and COVID-19 vaccines a $1,000 reward.

CVS told Insider the firm is in the process of onboarding 20,000 new retail employees, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The retail chain has also “begun the process of” adding pre-scheduled, daily break times.

Tanoe told Insider that the intense working conditions left her feeling like she might cause harm without having adequate time to do everything a pharmacist is supposed to do, like review all of a patient’s medications and check allergies before distributing a prescription.

Several other workers, who asked to remain anonymous, echoed Tanoe’s sentiments.

“We are expected to fill hundreds of medications per day, with less and less support staff, and more workload,” a former CVS pharmacist in Connecticut told Insider. “COVID has exacerbated this already inhumane situation.”

Another former CVS pharmacist in New York said she left in the fall due in part to fatigue and stress from the job. (Insider verified employment records of the pharmacists who asked to remain anonymous to protect their identities.)

At the start of the pandemic, the pharmacist said she had been the busiest in her entire career. But customers expressed gratitude for pharmacists working during the early months that made her job enjoyable.

The pharmacist said she worked extra hours and still fell behind on filling prescriptions — and that was before the FDA authorized vaccines. After people began coming in for vaccinations, pharmacists struggled being the only clinicians who needed to check every prescription and administer vaccines.

CVS told Insider thousands of stores operate vaccine clinics with a separate team of pharmacists who do not fill prescriptions or counsel patients.

Still, the pharmacist recalled some patients who grew agitated as stores got busier, including some people who ripped syringes out of her hands to “check it” due to misinformation-induced fear of microchips or other non-vaccine ingredients.

“You could either focus on filling people’s prescriptions or you can focus on doing vaccines, but there was literally no way that you could do both,” the pharmacist told Insider.

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April 11, 2021

After a vicious year of bankruptcies, some retailers are still at risk. 13 companies, including Rite Aid, Belk, and Neiman Marcus, could be the next to default.

empty sears store closure retail apocalypse — A worker removes sale banners inside a closed Sears department store one day after it closed in January 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
REUTERS/Mike Segar

Moody’s identified 13 retailers at the highest risk of defaulting or filing for bankruptcy in 2021.
Apparel and department store retailers, they said, remain the most at-risk.
Men’s Wearhouse, Talbots, Belk, and Party City all made the list.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Apparel and department stores are the most at risk for defaulting on their loans in 2021, analysts with Moody’s Investors Service said in an April 7 report.

After a brutal year in 2020, in which dozens of retailers filed for bankruptcy, more filings could be coming, but not as many as last year, the analysts said.

Apparel stores accounted for about half of defaults in 2020, and the sector is still “in the eye of the storm,” as it confronts long-term pressures, like declining mall traffic, the analysts said.

Although the 2021 forecast “marks a vast improvement over the prior year, it is still historically high relative to prior recoveries, pointing to significant ongoing risk for an industry not yet out of the woods,” the report said.

The analysts identified 13 stores at the highest risk of defaulting, and most of them are apparel stores.

Rite Aid

Rite Aid, the US pharmacy chain with 2,500 stores in 19 states, struggled amid the pandemic as fewer people came down with colds or coughs as they sheltered at home. The company cut its full-year forecast for 2021, and it has $1.5 billion in outstanding debt rated high risk. Moody’s said its competitive disadvantage and near-term maturities are putting it in danger of default.

Party City

“Debt-strapped” Party City eased its heavy burden last year when it announced a bond restructuring, Moody’s said. While the party retailer is still at risk of default because of ongoing challenges from low demand, the risk isn’t “immediate,” the analysts said.

Talbots

Women’s clothing store Talbots is among apparel retailers at risk. The company is facing sector challenges, as many consumers have turned away from malls amid the pandemic. Talbots doesn’t have much cash on hand, and it’s debt is coming due soon, analysts said.

Belk

Belk, a private apparel retailer with locations in 16 states, already marked the first bankruptcy of 2021. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based department store chain has struggled like other apparel retailers amid the pandemic. Plus, it has a lot of debt and not a lot of cash on hand.

Men’s Wearhouse

Men’s Wearhouse was among the long-struggling companies that defaulted in 2020, along with retailers like J.C. Penney and J. Crew. The formal apparel retailer was hit hard during the pandemic as people stayed at home and opted to wear comfy clothes instead of formal wear. Moody’s said the company’s outlook is currently stable, though it’s still at risk amid continued sector challenges.

Nieman Marcus

Neiman Marcus was also among retailers that filed for bankruptcy in 2020, as it was under “inexorable” pressure from the pandemic. The department store chain was “one of the highest-profile companies to succumb to bankruptcy” in 2020, analysts said, but it “emerged from Chapter 11 in September after shedding more than $4 billion of debt.” The company’s debt rating remains below investment-grade, however, keeping it at risk of default.

J. Jill

J. Jill, owned by Jill Acquisition, restructured its debt in 2020, giving the company “additional time to recover from coronavirus-driven disruption in the apparel retail industry,” Moody’s said at the time. Though the women’s apparel retailer still has risky debt on hand with weak liquidity, Moody’s rated it at stable.

Shoes for Crews

shoe organizers container store — Shoe organizers. The Container Store
The Container Store

Shoes for Crews, owned by SHO Holding, extended the deadline for its debt maturity last year during the pandemic. Still, the maker of slip-resistant, safety footwear for workers is at risk of default, as it faces the continued challenges of the apparel industry and is strapped with debt.

Outerstuff

Buffalo Bills fans in Orchard Park Stadium on January 9, 2021.
AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes

Outerstuff, the maker of major league sports apparel for youth, is one of the several retailers facing challenges as an apparel store. The private company is at risk of default as it has an “unsustainable capital structure at current levels of performance, small revenue scale, narrow product concentration primarily in licensed children’s sports apparel in North America with a small, but growing, adult and international presence, and reliance on licensing arrangements from several sports leagues for a significant majority of revenue,” Moody’s said in a March 26 analysis.

Nine West

Nine West, owned by Premier Brands Group Holdings, filed for bankruptcy in 2018. It reduced debt and emerged from bankruptcy in 2019 and sold its Anne Klein trademark. Still, the retailer is at risk of default because of a drop in revenue during the pandemic, and “it will take some time for the company to demonstrate a sustainable turnaround in light of the ongoing challenges in key segments of its wholesale customer base and the overall global apparel environment,” Moody’s said in a March 29 note.

Service King

car mechanic, car repair, looking under the hood of a car — Michael Stuparyk/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Michael Stuparyk/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Midas Intermediate Holdco, which owns Service King, has a lot of debt, and the bill is coming due. The Richardson, Texas-based car repair company has $1.1 billion in debt rated below investment-grade, Moody’s said.

99 Cents Only stores

Dollar-store chain 99 Cents Only, which has 350 stores in four states, had distressed exchanges in 2017 and 2019. The discount retailer is at risk because of a competitive disadvantage and operational and execution issues, Moody’s said.

Boardriders

Boardriders, the maker of popular surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding apparel brands like Billabong and Roxy, went bankrupt in 2015, and now it’s at risk of default again as the company faces sector challenges and a lot of debt amid the continued pandemic, Moody’s said. In the future, though, the analysts expect the company will see benefits from its acquisition of Billabong.

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March 25, 2021

Rite Aid plunges 22% after cutting its full-year forecast as the drugstore chain saw fewer people getting colds and coughs

GettyImages 1268610237 — Noam Galai/Getty Images

Shares in Rite Aid fell 22% at the market open on Thursday after the company cut its full-year forecast.
A decline in cases related to cough, cold, and flu hurt the drugstore chain’s fourth-quarter sales.
Social distancing measures and a long winter impacted its fourth-quarter sales, the chain said.
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Rite Aid fell by as much as 22% on Thursday after the company said its full-year results would be undermined by declining numbers of people falling sick with colds and coughs.

The retail drugstore industry has been hit by a weak sales season, due to measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus, the company said. As a result of physical distancing, face masks, and use of sanitizers, Rite Aid said it saw a decline of nearly 37% in its cough, cold, and flu-related product categories.

Rite Aid revised its expected full-year earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation to between $425 million and $435 million, from a prior forecast of between $490 and $520 million.

“During the fourth quarter, our industry was impacted by a historically soft cough, cold and flu season, as well as the continued impacts of COVID on the deferral of elective procedures and related acute prescription volume and selling, general and administrative expenses,” president and CEO Heyward Donigan said in a statement.

Front-end same store sales, a key metric that determines how well existing locations are performing, fell 5.6% for the company’s fourth quarter that ended on February 27. The winter season also contributed to a slump in its supply chain and a drop in sales, Rite Aid said.

Rite Aid shares closed at $23.34 per share on Wednesday, but sank 22% to $18.28 per share at Thursday’s market open.

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March 11, 2021

The CDC is reportedly eyeing a ‘promising’ partnership with Dollar General to bring vaccines to rural communities, and Target is expanding access to shots with in-store CVS clinics

The CDC is eyeing a potential partnership with Dollar General, USA Today reported.
Dollar General has locations within 10-15 miles of rural communities in 46 states, the CDC said.
Target is now offering vaccine doses through over 600 in-store CVS pharmacies in 17 states.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

In the latest efforts to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly looking a partnership with Dollar General to bring vaccines to rural communities, while Target and CVS are working together to expand the rollout in 17 states.

Target began providing vaccine doses on Wednesday in over 600 CVS pharmacies located inside its store locations, the company said in an emailed statement to Insider. Eligible people can find an appointment through CVS’s website.

Shots are available at store locations in Virginia, New York, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Hawaii, Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, California, and Pennsylvania, the retailer said in the statement.

Target added that, “as states open up vaccines for frontline and essential workers, we’ll work with CVS and others to offer vaccines to team members within our stores and distribution centers in the future.”

Separately, the CDC is looking into working with Dollar General to expand vaccine outreach to Americans in rural areas, USA Today reported on Tuesday.

“We’re exploring a promising collaboration with Dollar General stores, which have locations that include refrigeration capacity within 10 or 15 miles of our rural communities in all but four states,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday at Health Action Alliance’s National Business Summit, according to USA Today. Dollar General has over 17,000 stores in 46 states.

Dollar General did not immediate respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Dollar General was the first retailer to announce plans to pay workers to get vaccinated. In January, the discount store said it will offer all 157,000 employees four hours worth of pay if they get the vaccine.

In February, the White House announced that over 40,000 pharmacies nationwide are set to receive vaccine doses to give to eligible people for free per the rollout of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination.

Last month, select CVS Pharmacy locations began offering around 570,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses in 17 states as part of the program. CVS administered over three million vaccines and 15 million COVID-19 tests nationwide by mid-February.

The pharmacy chains and retailers partnering with the government in vaccine distribution include Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, Kroger, Publix, Costco, Albertsons, Hy-Vee, Meijer, and Winn-Dixie.

To date, 95.7 million vaccine doses have been provided to people in the US, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 tracker. An average of 2.17 million doses per day were administered this week, according to Bloomberg data.

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