What it's like to Work in Retail Pharmacy during COVID
If you’ve never worked in retail community pharmacy, you probably don’t know how hectic it can get when there isn’t a pandemic out there roaming the world. Now that this immense x-factor is sweeping the nation, it’s certainly complicating things. Furthermore, population-dense metropolises such as New York, where I live, are impacted the most with the sheer number of cases and repercussions, trickling from the front lines to our business, economic and personal levels.
If you just frequent the pharmacy as an occasional shopper or to pick up the odd prescription item, you probably didn’t give a second thought what goes on behind the scenes to make it all function. I think most of us pharmacy workers try to put a pretty convincing front of having it all together, serving our patients and clients in an organized and timely manner. However, it takes a super-power team to make it all appear seamless. Every link in the supply chain has to function just right for every other action to be performed.
At a time of remote working, social distancing regulations, and personal protection equipment (PPE) guidelines, how does the pharmacy fit in? As an independent retail pharmacist, I cannot work from home, because I need to physically be present and oversee all the functions of the pharmacy. Without me, the pharmacy is not allowed to operate, and in such a crisis, I can’t in good conscience let that happen. Where would my regular patients go to get their medications that they get consistently to manage chronic conditions?
Other pharmacies in my area have already closed their doors, either operating in a closed-door or mail-order capacity, or due to quarantine precautions, if a staff member has come down with COVID symptoms. (Technically, I’d be able to oversee all activity remotely, with access to adequate video footage and the internal software system, but we currently don’t have those means in play. Besides, my technicians would still have to come in, since there are no robots to unpack boxes, organize inventory, take medications off the shelves, and count them appropriately! But I digress.) I’ve been working without a technician for a couple of weeks as a measure of precaution and shortage of available, healthy workers.
Ok, let’s assume your pharmacy team is intact and you’ve decided to open the doors of your business to the public. How do you protect the wellbeing of your staff to prevent anyone from contracting the virus? Do you spend thousands of dollars on a plexiglass barrier at the point of sale? Do you create a makeshift division yourself, and risk cutting off any potential air circulation, which may make matters worse? Do you hire an extra employee to deliver all medications to eliminate foot traffic? Where do you procure masks and gloves for sale, let alone for your personal use?
There is a shortage of PPE and any kind of disinfectant products, including hand sanitizers, hydrogen peroxide, Lysol and rubbing alcohol. There are also increasing delays and shortages on regular prescription medication and over-the-counter products. The biggest hit is to any items relating to immunity, such as zinc and vitamin C, and herbal supplements such as elderberry. Since the unproven claims to hydroxychloroquine as the [possibly effective] “miracle-cure” and the advice to choose Tylenol over Motrin have permeated the collective knowledge like social-media wildfire, there is even more hoarding and public panic to try to stock up on these coveted items.
Although people are strongly advised to stay home in self-quarantine, every straggler passing by makes sure to stop in to ask for at least one of the above mentioned items - even though we have signs on the front door in several languages, and in pictorial form, outlining what we don’t have in stock! Hopeful shoppers are still visiting the one grocery store and one pharmacy still left standing on our once-bustling overcrowded block. Walking home, I see disposable masks, gloves, and miscellaneous strips of garbage lying grotesquely on the sidewalk like some dead carcasses left on the side of the road with tire tracks and footprints all over.
I urge people to heed the current quarantine and social distancing guidelines in order to curb the spread of this ultra virulent microscopic giant. If you must leave the house for emergencies, or are an essential worker yourself, follow the rules of frequent hand-washing with soap, and wearing personal protective gear. In the effort to genuinely conserve resources for those at the very front lines and at the most risk, I recommend wearing reusable masks and gloves. You can easily craft these yourself and even convert cotton t-shirts or underwear (men’s briefs are particularly comfy to accommodate the nose bulge!). Finish strong by stapling or hand-sewing some rubber bands for your ears. Even though it’s getting warm out, you can procure some light cotton gloves (in your local pharmacy or better yet, order them online) instead of using disposable ones. If you get two pairs of each, you can throw them in the wash or hand wash them daily with some detergent or castile soap, and change it up for the next day.
If you’re rusty on your sewing skills, or just don’t have time to DIY this, you can order cotton masks too! Many people have started to craft these on Etsy and other sites. I personally got some for myself and my pharmacy team from my good friend Torin at Gnome Apothecary, an alternative herbal style online shop. His masks come in a variety of trendy patterns, and contain a pocket compartment where you can insert HEPA filters for heavy-duty particle sifting. I’ve also inserted a small gauze pad with some eucalyptus essential oil-based spray for its antimicrobial and respiratory-supporting properties. (Bonus: get 10% off anything in the Gnome Shop using code “DRBOOK.”)
It can be really scary on the front lines where interacting with humans is part of your profession. Normally, I love the part of my job that entails interface with patients. I’m glad to offer advice about medications, either allopathic or alternative, and will always take a break from my work in the back to chat with someone up front. Now, I’m sequestered in my back corner and tell my patients to call me for consultations, to limit their presence in the store, for all of our sakes. We all have families to come back home to, and we must all do our part to prevent spread to the most susceptible patient groups (mainly elderly and high comorbidities, but I’m also partial to keeping children away from this potential threat).
Even though my practice is much safer than, say, being faced with confirmed COVID patients in the emergency room setting in hospitals and clinics, it’s still a risk to have to come into work each day. You never know who you will pass on the elevator, street, or come in contact with in your place of business. The novel corona can survive on surfaces for days, and can even linger in the air for a few hours according to some sources.
This is the world of my pharmacy practice today, in the independent retail community setting. No matter how hard we aim to please and serve, at the end of the day, we still get blamed for shortages and delivery issues. But some people do show gratitude, and their kind mask-muffled words are a balm on my soul. It replenishes my will to do my public service as part of my profession. The claps, cheers, and songs at 7pm on the balconies and porches throughout NYC are also a tremendous boost to the overall morale. So thank you all, stay home and safe, and may you be merry and healthy!
