Nebraska pharmacies ask for patience

The pandemic is making things harder in an already busy time at your local drugstores.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – This is probably already a very busy time of the year at your pharmacy of choice.

“A lot of people have met their deductible for their prescriptions so they want to get an extra fill or two in before January first”, explains Nebraska Pharmacists Association CEO Marcia Mueting.

Add in flu shots, COVID booster shots, and the staffing shortages that everyone is seeing, and you’re likely to encounter a much slower process than usual. It may be an annoying wait, but getting prescriptions is something you just can’t speed through and for good reason.

“The pharmacy team is working to make sure that they get the right medication, the right dose for the right patient”, says Mueting. “It’s important for them to go through the processes that they need to, to assure that patients are safe. It does take a while and we’re just asking people for patience.”

While there’s not much you can do to speed the behind-the-counter process up, there are things you can do to cut your wait time, like calling for prescriptions ahead of time. There are other times you may want to call in as well.

“A lot of pharmacies are no longer accepting walk-ins, for example, to get a flu shot or a COVID shot”, says Mueting.

It may still be a longer visit than usual when all is said and done, but it will be a bit easier for everyone to deal with.