A CVS district leader told staff not to tell patients their prescriptions were filled by an employee who tested positive for COVID-19, according to a leaked email shared with Business Insider.
A pharmacy technician in Georgia shared the email and said workers were threatened with discipline or termination if they told customers about confirmed COVID-19 cases among CVS staff members. Fourteen CVS employees around the U.S. told Business Insider that CVS has a pattern of bullying staff and disregarding the safety of both staff and customers.
The leaked email asked pharmacy employees to track down which prescriptions were filled by an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 and remove them from the shelves. But if a patient had already picked up one of the prescriptions, the email said it was standard policy not to make an outreach call.
A CVS spokesperson told Business Insider, "It is not our policy to prohibit our pharmacies from informing patients if their prescription was filled when an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 worked in the pharmacy."
The Georgia technician told Business Insider that after one of their co-workers started showing symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19, staff who worked closely with that person were told not to get tested because they couldn't have anyone else out of work.
The CVS spokesperson said it's CVS' policy to allow employees to work even if they've been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The company allows asymptomatic employees who haven't tested positive but have been exposed to COVID-19 to work if they wear surgical masks, monitor themselves for symptoms and have their temperature taken before and after every shift for 14 days after exposure, the spokesperson told Business Insider. Workers are also allowed to request time off to quarantine if they are exposed to a co-worker who tested positive.
A CVS spokesperson told Becker's: "When we’re notified about a pharmacy employee’s diagnosis, as a matter of precaution any prescriptions filled while that employee worked in the pharmacy that have not been picked up will be quarantined and replaced with new product. For patients who’ve already received their prescriptions, we cooperate with local departments of health and provide patient contact information as requested. In these situations, patients – if they choose to – can return and replace medications."
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