Whether you've got a late-night craving for candy or are looking to refill one of your prescriptions, CVS is a store we've all relied on at one time or another. The drugstore chain has become even more important amid the COVID pandemic, providing vaccinations and access to testing. But shoppers who frequent the company's locations will soon have to get used to a new change. CVS just announced that customers will no longer be able to do one thing in its stores, starting Feb. 28. Read on to find out what change to prepare for at the end of this month.
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CVS will no longer allow shoppers to pick up a prescription at any time.
ShutterstockIf you're someone who prefers to pick up your prescriptions during your lunch break, you might have to adjust your routine. CVS will no longer be allowing shoppers to visit its pharmacies during certain times of the day, the Washington Examiner reported. According to the news outlet, the drugstore chain just announced that it will be adjusting its pharmacy hours in order to implement a "pre-scheduled, uninterrupted" lunch break for its workers.
"We want to make sure our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are at their best, which means supporting their schedules accordingly," CVS said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
The hours will be adjusted at most CVS locations this month.
ShutterstockSome CVS locations have previously set a pharmacy-wide lunch break, but this new change will occur at most of the chain's locations, starting Feb. 28. According to CVS, most of its pharmacies will begin closing from 1:30 to 2 p.m. local time at the end of the month in order to provide the time for lunch.
"This break gives our pharmacy teams a predictable and consistent daily pause while minimizing disruption to our patients," the company explained. CVS is also in the process of notifying customers about these upcoming changes, a spokesperson told CBS-affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.
Pharmacists have been strained over the last two years.
iStockThe COVID pandemic coupled with a labor shortage has put many pharmacists under intense strain over the last two years, The New York Times reported on Feb. 10. According to the newspaper, this pressure has bounced back onto customers, who have started experiencing disruptions in vaccine appointments, longer lines to pick up prescriptions, and frustration in getting certain pandemic supplies like masks and at-home COVID tests.
Scott Knoer, the executive vice president and chief executive of the American Pharmacists Association, told The New York Times that as burnout is causing even more pharmacists to leave their jobs, those left behind are at an increased risk of making mistakes while filling prescriptions or treating patients because they are overworked and understaffed. According to a January survey from the association, 74 percent of pharmacy workers said they no longer feel that they have sufficient time to safely perform patient care and clinical duties.
CVS is also facing a number of store closures in the near future.
ShutterstockRight now, most CVS stores are operating on normal hours, although some have had to temporarily close on one or both days of the weekend, Michael DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, told The New York Times. But the drugstore chain will be focusing on permanent closures soon. In Nov. 2021, CVS announced that it would be permanently shuttering 900 of its stores across the U.S., CNN reported at the time. According to the news outlet, these closures will occur over the next three years and begin in the spring of 2022. This will eliminate nearly 10 percent of the company's footprint and ensure that it has the "right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business."
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