Dania Palanker and her 7-year-old daughter, Nadia, felt excited as they bundled into the car in Washington last week to get Nadia’s coronavirus vaccine.
The evening before,Palankerreceived an automated email from Walgreens confirming Nadia’s appointment at the chain’s outlet in Cheverly, Md. “We’ll see you tomorrow!” read the subject line.
Their anticipation turned to disappointment once they arrived for the 6:30 p.m. shot. The store was still open, but the pharmacists had left, the pharmacy counter was closed and no one could provide vaccines. The pharmacy shuttered a half-hour before Nadia’s confirmed appointment, part of service cutbacks by Walgreens caused by a labor shortage hitting drugstores across the country.
“She was stoic,” Palanker said of her daughter. “I was furious.” Later that evening, she said, Nadia “looked close to tears.” Palanker went back online and found a city-run District of Columbia walk-up vaccination site, where Nadia got her shot the next day.
Walgreens apologized to affected customers in an email to The Washington Post and said it was working to prevent such problems moving forward. The company would not say how many of its customers nationwide have suffered the same frustration. Similar tales from angry consumers have popped up on social media around the country since early November.
The problems arose as demand is surging for coronavirus vaccine boosters as well as pediatric vaccine doses. President Biden’s administration has authorized boosters for everyone over 18 and is urging everyone to get the additional shot in response to the spread of the new omicron variant.
Palanker, a research professor and specialist on insurance and health care access at Georgetown’s Health Policy Institute, said she was especially dismayed because of the broader implications of her experience. An unannounced vaccine cancellation for a child would have a bigger impact on a family with less work flexibility or longer driving distances.
“My whole takeaway is Walgreens really dropped the ball,” Palanker said.
Walgreens is not alone among national chain pharmacies suffering from staff shortages. CVS said in September it was hiring 25,000 new workers at its stores, most of them pharmacists, pharmacy techs and nurses, to respond to heavy demand for coronavirus and flu vaccines and coronavirus tests.