![]() ![]() That drop in business also meant fewer sales of over-the-counter medicines and ancillary items sold by the stores. Most pharmacies, he said, saw a decline in prescriptions last year as customers hesitated to visit their doctors for anything but emergencies. “We’re getting calls from a lot more pharmacy owners that want to sell their stores. “Pharmacies are struggling,” said Harry Lattanzio, president of PRS Pharmacy Services, a consulting firm in Latrobe, Penn. Revenue from COVID testing and vaccinations may help keep some independents afloat, but that comes with added costs and logistical challenges. And according to the Drug Channels Institute, after five years of declines, the number of urban and rural independent pharmacies dipped below 20,000 for the first time in 2020. The Rural Policy Research Institute found that 1,231 independently owned rural pharmacies, about 16%, closed for good from 2003 to 2018, well before the pandemic pinch. The total number of pharmacies has declined less than 1% over the past five years, as pharmacy chains get larger while independent community pharmacies-often the last place left to fill a prescription in some small towns-go under. It’s too early to quantify just how many pharmacies succumbed to COVID and assess how patients will be affected. But others, like Tobin’s, became casualties of the pandemic, closing their doors for good. Many small owner-operated pharmacies adapted quickly, delivering their traditional amenities in safer ways or capitalizing on new services created by the pandemic, such as COVID testing and vaccinations. For pharmacies-especially independent pharmacies-the pandemic lockdowns exacerbated long-standing economic pressures. The COVID-19 pandemic sank many businesses in 2020, particularly those relying on in-person sales to stay afloat. ![]() ![]() “And then COVID hit,” said Dave Schultz, who co-owned the store with his brother. ![]()
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