Some pharmacy employees say their workload has become too overwhelming during the coronavirus pandemic, with the added responsibility of administering all three authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
“I come home and I cry, I go on my lunch break, I cry,” says technician Deanna Amondsen, who works at a South Bay Walgreens. “They’ve scheduled us literally an appointment every 10 minutes and every person comes in wanting a different vaccine. There’s just two of us and we also have to do all the prescriptions at the same time.”
Amondsen says the number of staff is the same as before COVID-19 shots were added to the mix, and that she’s concerned the intense workload will jeopardize patient safety.
Los Angeles-area Pavilions pharmacist Jessica Crowley echoes the sentiment and says the workload at her already demanding job has increased during the pandemic, but staffing has not.
“It’s really too much, Crowley says. “It’s really just not OK and I think the public really needs to know how bad conditions are in the pharmacies.”
KTLA reached out to Walgreens and Pavillions for comment but had not heard back Wednesday evening.