CDC Recommendations for Pharmacies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Minimizing Risks for Staff and Customers

As a vital part of the healthcare system, pharmacies play an important role in providing medications, therapies, vaccines and critical health services to the public. It is important to ensure the continued function of pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, pharmacy staff can minimize their risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 and reduce the risk to customers by using infection prevention and control and social distancing principles.

Advise staff who are sick to stay home

Ensure that pharmacy staff who have fever or respiratory symptoms stay home and away from the workplace until they have recovered.
Ensure sick leave policies are flexible, non-punitive, and consistent with public health guidance and that employees know and understand these policies.

Recipe filling

Although the actual process of preparing medications for dispensing is not a direct patient care activity, the other components of medication dispensing, such as ingesting prescription medications, patient counseling, or patient education, can expose the pharmacy staff to people who may have respiratory illnesses.

In addition to following workplace guidance, pharmacy staff should:

Provide hand sanitizer at counters for customer use and have sufficient and easy access to soap and water or hand sanitizer for staff.

Encourage all prescribers to submit prescription orders by phone or electronically. The pharmacy must develop procedures to avoid handling paper prescriptions , in accordance with appropriate state laws, regulations or executive orders.

Preparing and dispensing prescriptions does not require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

After a prescription has been filled, the packaged medication can be placed on a counter for the customer to retrieve, rather than being handed directly to the customer.

Other strategies to limit direct contact with customers include:

Avoid handling insurance or benefit cards. Instead, have the customer take a photo of the card for processing or read the information needed out loud (in a private location so other customers can’t hear it).
Avoid touching objects that have been handled by customers.
If transfer of items must occur, pharmacy staff should wash their hands afterwards with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
They should always avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

Use strategies to minimize close contact between staff and customers and between customers:

Use mechanical controls where customer and pharmacy staff interact, such as the pharmacy counter, to minimize close contact.
Minimize physical contact with customers and between customers.
Maintain social distancing (2 meters between individuals) for people entering the pharmacy as much as possible.
Use signage/barriers and floor markers to instruct waiting customers to stay 2 meters away from the counter, other customer interfaces and from other customers and pharmacy staff.
To protect against droplets from coughs or sneezes , install a section of clear plastic in the customer contact area to provide barrier protection (for example, Plexiglas-type material or clear plastic sheeting).
Set up with a walk-through opening at the bottom of the barrier so people can talk or share items, if possible.
Frequently clean and disinfect all customer service counters and customer contact areas.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces , such as workstations, keyboards, phones, and doorknobs.
To disinfect, use products that meet the criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and are appropriate for the surface.
Discontinue the use of magazines and other shared items in pharmacy waiting areas.
Make sure the waiting area is cleaned regularly.
For pharmacies with a co-located retail clinic, use signs to ask customers who have respiratory symptoms to wait for their appointment in a specific part of the store.
Promote the use of self-service payment registers and clean them frequently.
Have disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers at check-in locations for customer use.

Use administrative controls, such as protocols or changes to work practices, policies, or procedures, to keep staff and customers separate:

Promote physical distancing by diverting as many customers as possible to drive-thru windows, curbside pickup, or delivery whenever possible.
Large outdoor signage asking customers to use the drive-through window or curbside pickup may be helpful.
Include automated text messages or phone messages that specifically ask sick customers to stay home and request home delivery or have a family member or friend pick up their medications.
Limit the number of customers in the pharmacy at any one time to avoid crowding at the pharmacy counter or checkout areas.
Pharmacists who provide patients with chronic disease management services, medication management services, and other services that do not require face-to-face encounters should make every effort to use telephone, telehealth, or pharmacy strategies.
Close self-service blood pressure units.

Reduce risk during COVID-19 testing and other close-contact pharmacy care services.

Pharmacies participating in public health testing for COVID-19 should contact local and state public health personnel to determine which individuals meet the criteria for testing. State and local health departments will inform pharmacies of procedures for appropriately collecting, storing, and shipping specimens, including after hours or on weekends/holidays. Some pharmacies include self-collection options.

Pharmacy staff performing COVID-19 testing and other close-contact patient care procedures that are likely to result in coughing or sneezing, aerosolization (e.g., influenza and strep testing) should be provided with appropriate PPE .

Personnel using respirators must be familiar with proper use and follow a complete respiratory protection program that meets the OSHA Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134).

Staff must also be trained in the proper donning and donning of PPE equipment.

CDC Recommendations for Pharmacies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Minimizing Risks for Staff and Customers

The CDC provides guidance applicable to all pharmacy staff to mitigate their exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and reduce transmission risks to customers, emphasizing the importance of implementing infection control measures and promoting adherence to public health recommendations.