This week, there have been numerous states that have began the process of re-opening non-essential businesses. There are valid arguments both for and against these decisions, but ultimately the decisions are being made for political and financial reasons.
State and local government tax revenues during the shut-down are essentially non-existent in many jurisdictions. Unlike the federal government, which can essentially create money from thin air, the states need tax revenue to operate, and without an active economy their budgets are in intensive care on ventilators. The pressure on governors to open up the economy is undoubtedly intense.
The implications of any official re-opening, however, are significant. If a jurisdiction allows restaurants, for example, to re-open, restaurant owners are put in a difficult position. All employees currently on unemployment are no longer eligible for the federal emergency unemployment benefit. If the business owner does not want to risk re-opening, or opens at lower capacity and only needs some of the employees back, any remaining unemployment burden will likely shift back to the employer. This creates a significant pressure for the owner to re-open even if they don’t feel comfortable doing so at the time.
Pharmacies, for the most part, have not closed. Sure, many have gone to curbside service and delivery in place of having an open store, but they have continued to serve the public. A “re-opening” will not directly create the economic ramifications described above. That being said, there are still ramifications.
It is important to recognize that any re-opening does not mean turning the clock back to December 2019 and doing things the same way as before. When my area begins to re-open non-essential businesses, things will still be very different. In our pharmacy, I anticipate changes happening when our doors re-open. Perhaps a plexiglass screen, or a limit to how many people we let in the door at a time. We might take patient temperatures or measure blood oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter before letting a patient inside. I also expect that some of the procedure we put in place during the crisis will continue to be popular. Many patients appear to like the curbside service and delivery, for example.
My father-in-law has a great expression. He may not have originated it but I always attribute it to him: “Don’t look back, we aren’t going there.” For any re-opened economy this quote pretty much sums it up. So instead, look forward. Acknowledge that everyone, including community pharmacies, will be making changes to work in a post Covid-19 pandemic world. Look at these changes not as burdens, but opportunities. It is time to make this encounter with re-opening count.