Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS have, over the last two years, said they’ll close more than 1,500 stores, the Washington Post reported, and experts say minority communities will likely be the first to lose pharmacy access.
The large chains have struggled in recent years—Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October, Walgreens stock plunged last week after the company cut its quarterly dividend and CVS has cut more than 1,100 stores since 2018—amid greater competition from Amazon and WalMart, and staffing shortages, according to the Washington Post.
Thousands of independent pharmacies have also been forced out of the market in the last decade.