More drug stores closing, impacting Black, Latino patients

NBC Los Angeles

Black and Latino communities are facing growing risks of losing access to medical services as an unprecedented amount of pharmacies across the U.S. closed in the recent years, a study by USC and UC Berkeley revealed this week.

Researchers found nearly one in three pharmacies – both franchise and independent – has closed since 2010, with the increasing closures reported starting in 2018.

Among 88,980 drug stores operating between 2010 and 2020, about 30% of them closed by 2021 with many of them having served Black and Latino communities. 

Fewer pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods mean that people in the communities have less access to vaccinations, contraception and other life-saving drugs, such as naloxone, which reverses opioid overdoses.

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