Throughout the pandemic, people across the globe experienced many “firsts”—from wearing face coverings when leaving home to turning their living rooms into classrooms. It’s been a transformative year and a half, and some elements of the world and our business have changed forever. 

As we continue celebrating our pharmacy heroes during American Pharmacists Month, here are a few ways our team members rose to one of the biggest challenges of their lives and their profession.
 
  • March 2020: San Francisco Walgreens pharmacy team helps patients stranded on a cruise ship quarantined due to COVID-19.
     
  • April 2020: Danny Wolak is one of the first Walgreens pharmacists to participate in early drive-thru COVID-19 testing.

Danny Wolak
 
  • May 2020: During the early days of the pandemic, specialty pharmacy manager Joynell Bean shares what it’s like to continue caring for patients with multiple sclerosis from inside a New Orleans hospital during a pandemic.
     
  • September 2020: Walgreens’ chief medical officer, Dr. Kevin Ban, addresses consumer attitudes and misconceptions about getting a flu shot during the pandemic.
     
  • November 2020: Luke Sauter and Tasha Polster lead vaccine distribution efforts in preparation for the COVID-19 vaccine.
     
  • December 2020: Pharmacist Kate Latta administers Walgreens’ first COVID-19 vaccine, to an elderly patient in an Ohio long-term care facility.

Kate Latta
 
Mobile bus clinic
 
  • August 2021: Since the beginning of the pandemic, Walgreens has made additional investments in support of its team members, including adding 25,000 full-time and part-time pharmacy team members, raising the starting hourly wage for all team members to $15 an hour and introducing new bonuses and rewards for pharmacy teams.
     
  • September 2021: After losing two family members to COVID-19, Adrian Contreras, pharmacy manager in Woodburn, Oregon, continues to spread the word to help get his community members vaccinated.
     
  • October 2021: Thanks to the herculean efforts of tens of thousands of Walgreens pharmacy team members, the company surpasses vaccination goals, administering more than 40 million COVID-19 vaccinations to date.