The urgent need to manage COVID-19 vaccines across the US are increasing demand for another suddenly popular commodity: pharmacists.
The federal government this week started sending vaccines to drugstores across the country as part of an effort to boost immunizations. As a result, pharmacies are adding pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other support staff to deal with patients, manage vaccine supplies and give injections. Some employers are even offering five-digit enrollment bonuses to pharmacy students before they even complete their studies.
“For the past five to six years, the market was saturated with pharmacists and few job opportunities were good,” said Micheal Hogue, dean of the School of Pharmacy at Loma Linda University. “Today, I am very aware of the regional and national networks that are hiring pharmacy students and pharmacists as quickly as possible to meet the demands of COVID’s vaccination efforts.”
Scott Knoer, CEO of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), also pointed to the increase Employment Opportunities for pharmacy students.
“It used to be a little difficult to get a job in the pharmacy. Now it’s changed because of COVID, and pharmacists are literally saving the world through vaccination,” he told CBS MoneyWatch.
Drugstore job listings have increased by 35% compared to a year ago, with large chains and independent pharmacies increasing the hiring of Americans strive to secure commitments. CVS Health, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain with 10,000 stores in the U.S., announced in October that it would fill 15,000 new jobs, including 10,000 pharmacy technician positions, to help respond to the pandemic.
Walgreens, the second largest pharmacy chain in the United States, with more than 9,000 retail locations, is also hiring quickly. He filled 7,500 of the 9,000 newly created pharmacy functions to assist with COVID-19 testing and vaccine injections. It is also training the existing team to administer the vaccine and plans to train 45,000 team members, including 30,000 pharmacists and 15,000 pharmacy technicians by mid-February, said Rina Shah, vice president of pharmaceutical operations at Walgreens, in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch .
The network is also hiring an additional 25,000 employees who are vital to supporting pharmacists and technicians.
The new rule is a “game changer”
A brochure distributed by CVS Health indicates that the company is also offering “Hero Pay” to drugstore teams that administer the COVID-19 vaccine. A company spokesman said he would continue to hire employees to meet demand as long as the pandemic persists.
Most pharmacists are trained and licensed to administer immunizations as soon as they obtain the title of Doctor of Pharmacy. But a rule change issued by the Trump administration in October also allows pharmacy technicians, who do not require a Pharm.D. degree, to complete a training course to administer COVID-19 vaccines under the guidance of a fully licensed pharmacist.
The change allows the pharmacist to delegate the task of giving an injection to a technician, freeing him up for other tasks. Pharmacists are responsible for checking that the vaccine is suitable for the patient and that it has been prepared correctly.
“In the pharmacy workflow, sometimes immunizations are a bottleneck because, as a pharmacist, you have to leave everything you are doing to give the patient an injection. Having a technician to do this is a game changer in pharmaceutical practice “said Kim McKeirnan, associate professor of pharmacotherapy at the Washington State University School of Pharmacy and author of the school’s pharmacy technician training program.
Five-digit bonus
Beginning in December, the Washington State University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences began receiving a stream of requests from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help with COVID-19 vaccinations, according to Linda Garrelts MacLean, vice president for external relations Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
An internal job board features a Walgreens pamphlet announcing registration bonuses of up to $ 10,000 for pharmacists and $ 500 for technicians. Other chains are offering up to $ 20,000, said a pharmacy school administrator.
Courtesy of WSU College of Pharmacy
Breanna Byrne, a fourth-year student at the WSU pharmacy school, is optimistic about her job prospects. She has completed the course that allows her to administer the COVID-19 vaccine and works at the Fred Meyer pharmacy on the weekends, where she earns $ 23 an hour as an intern.
“They offered me an internship position to help with the flu season and now that is taking the vaccination for COVID forward,” Byrne told CBS MoneyWatch.
Her fiance, Jeff Gist, also a fourth year student at WSU, recently got an internship at Walgreens to help with vaccines. “They said that as soon as I graduate in May, it will become a full-time position. I am sure that we will administer many vaccines, ”he said.
The pandemic is highlighting the comprehensive skills of pharmacists, putting them on the front lines against COVID-19.
“Pharmacy as a profession has been working very diligently to ensure that its value is understood and this particular situation simply highlights the value that the pharmacist brings to the community and the team,” said WSU’s Garrelts MacLean.
Industry professionals say pharmacists are ready for what is an unprecedented public health challenge.
“This is the 11th of September for pharmacists. In the beginning, we had no protection: no PPE, no masks, no plexiglass. Pharmacists have gone to work, served their community and are doing it now. Usually pharmacists are in the background, but now we’re up there, “said Knoer.