Retail pharmacists say phones are ringing “nonstop” with inquiries about COVID-19 rapid tests as cases surge in some areas.
Andrea Michelson
- The Omicron variant has led to a surge in demand for at-home COVID test kits.
- Pharmacists told Insider that the tests are “flying off the shelves.”
- Some pharmacies have enough tests, but lack space and staff to process results.
Americans are rushing to buy at-home COVID tests ahead of the holidays as cases surge, and some pharmacists say it’s straining their already burned out staff.
The tests have been “flying off the shelves,” a Walgreens pharmacist in St. Louis told Insider. “We get our shipment once a week, and the tests are gone in a matter of hours.” Phones ring “nonstop” with inquiries about tests, and customers sometimes say they’ve checked several other stores or driven an hour in search of a test, she said. The pharmacist and several other workers who spoke to Insider for this story asked to remain anonymous to protect their employment, but their identities are known to Insider.
The sudden uptick in demand has prompted several major retailers to limit how many tests customers can buy. Walgreens is limiting customers to four test kits per person, CVS is limiting customers to six test kits, and Amazon is capping shoppers at 10 kits.
Workers at a Walgreens in Rochester, New York attempted to prevent overcrowding by selling tests in small displays around the store, instead of one central location, a technician told Insider.
Walgreens said in a statement the retailer has seen “unprecedented demand” of COVID-19 tests and vaccines ahead of the holidays.
For some pharmacies, a lack of tests isn’t the most pressing problem. At Rossi Pharmacy in Brooklyn, “we just don’t have the manpower and physical space to accommodate everyone” who wants to be tested, pharmacist Ambar Keluskar told Insider. “If we do get samples, the lab is so backed up that it’s several hours behind,” he said.
The Omicron variant has led to an “absolute tidal wave that came out of nowhere,” Keluskar said.
Pharmacists and technicians were already facing challenges before the latest COVID variant emerged. Six current and former pharmacists at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid previously told Insider about burnout from high workloads and not receiving adequate support from the pharmacies to handle increased workload from COVID-19 vaccines.
To help pharmacists deal with the demand, a Rite Aid spokesperson told Insider the company is routing calls to front-end teams to answer questions related to treatment, vaccinations, and tests.
Mitch Lee, a retail pharmacist and host of the podcast ReTell Pharmacy, said the new year is already a busy time for pharmacists because of changes to patients’ insurance and deductibles. Lee said patients need to understand pharmacists are doing “the absolute best they can,” and their experience at the pharmacy won’t be what it was before 2020.
“People are in full survival mode right now, they’re burned out,” Lee said. “One of the things that’s really kicking us while we’re down is Omicron, and the vaccine wasn’t the end-all, be-all, cure-all.”
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.
“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.”
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