Sixteen Walgreens updates Becker's has reported on since Oct. 18:
- Walgreens is capping online orders of over-the-counter pediatric fever reducers to six amid a shortage.
- With the highest number of flu infections in 10 years and other illnesses straining health systems' resources, Walgreens said Dec. 16 it will offer rapid flu tests with the promise of results within two hours.
- AbbVie, the fourth-largest drugmaker by revenue, will leave the Business Roundtable, a lobby organization that's composed of CEOs from healthcare companies including Walgreens, Kaiser Permanente and Walmart.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance sold almost $1 billion of stock it owns in drug distributor AmerisourceBergen to both draw down some debt and help toward VillageMD's eventual purchase of Summit Health.
- CVS Health and Walgreens have agreed to pay a total of $10.7 billion to settle opioid disputes.
- Steven Shulman, a healthcare executive with ties to VillageMD and CareCentrix, has resigned from Walgreens' board after a spat with other members over whether he was an independent voice.
- CVS, Walgreens and Walmart appealed a ruling that ordered them to pay $650 million for fueling the opioid epidemic in two Ohio counties, arguing the case should be thrown out or a new trial introduced.
- Walgreens is expanding its same-day delivery service to fulfill orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in select markets.
- Walgreens has been fined 15 times so far in 2022 for violating Maine's staffing and operating hours laws.
- SoulBeing, a mental health and wellness platform, has gone live on the Walgreen's Find Care digital marketplace.
- Walgreens has opened its 100th "Health Corners" clinic at a store in Pico Rivera, Calif.
- Walgreens added Bryan Hanson, CEO and president of medical device company Zimmer Biomet, to its board of directors.
- Walgreens' vice president of pharmacy of the future, Rina Shah, PharmD, said federal laws are needed to further meld pharmacists into other healthcare roles.
- Walgreens said Oct. 26 that its 24,000 pharmacy workers will soon be evaluated for patient care and outcomes as the company eliminates "all task-based metrics."
- Online delivery companies DoorDash and Uber will help Walgreens distribute Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral drug, to those who have a prescription but cannot access it.
- HHS will investigate whether retail pharmacies, including Walgreens and CVS, have complied with federal law since the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade.