Angry Customers, More Work and Longer Hours Strain Pharmacists

Pharmacists and technicians, who have played a critical role in administering Covid-19 tests and vaccines, say they are burned out nearly two years into the pandemic.

WASHINGTON — Ken O’Shea spent eight years working in retail pharmacies, first as a technician and then as a pharmacist. He liked working on the front lines and seeing his patients get better over time.

But during the pandemic, Mr. O’Shea said, he had less and less time to counsel patients. On top of his regular job, he had to juggle coronavirus vaccinations and testing, more phone calls and angrier customers who would berate him if prescriptions took longer to be filled. His workload worsened after three colleagues quit in the span of two months.

Mr. O’Shea, a 28-year-old pharmacist in Virginia Beach, quit working full time at Walgreens on Dec. 30 and recently began a job at an insurance company. He has been working one shift every two weeks at Walgreens while the pharmacy is still understaffed, he said.