The role of community pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

Abstract

Coronavirus pandemic started to spread in the U.S.A. with a few cases from February 2020, causing a national health crisis with the number of cases exceeding 30 million in June 2021. To improve the situation during the crisis, new regulations regarding community pharmacies were made and innovative solutions were introduced to protect public health. Community pharmacists, who are the most accessible healthcare professionals, have assumed new roles and responsibilities including COVID-19 testing and vaccination. The scale and way pharmacists' potential are used have played an important role in determining the fate of the COVID pandemic in the U.S.A. The purpose of this article is to address the expanding job descriptions and sacrifices of community pharmacists in the COVID-19 era from a holistic perspective.