It’s been a year since the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic. As the virus spread across the length and breadth of the globe, probably faster than a forest fire, the world learned to live in the New Normal. CVSHealth president and Chief Executive Officer Karen S. Lynch has shared her experience of the pandemic year in a blog, where she says “it’s hard to believe it’s been one year”. She recalls how the country “experienced many moments of sadness and anxiety as we’ve collectively navigated through the pandemic, adjusting to what has been labeled ‘the new normal’.”
- Elaborating the new normal, Lynch writes that for many this past year, “home became a workplace, as well as a classroom. For essential workers – including our CVS Health colleagues on the front lines – work took on new meaning. Nurses, doctors, pharmacists and all of those who keep our hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies up and running became our country’s heroes”.
- The blog has a special mention of CVS MinuteClinic nurse practitioner Katie Rutt, who had volunteered to work at the first drive-through testing site at a CVS Pharmacy parking lot in Massachusetts. She says Katie and other frontline workers have risked their health, experienced serious emotional trauma, and too many have lost their lives because of their commitment to providing care.
- Lynch writes, “There was a terrible storm in the area that day. Our team battled heavy winds and cold rain, working from early in the morning to near dark to provide COVID tests to first responders, law enforcement, and health care workers who pulled into the lot… I’ll always be grateful to Katie and the rest of the Shrewsbury CVS team for all they did on that cold, rainy day, simultaneously fighting the elements, the virus, and their own worries.”
- Lynch goes on to highlight the role of the scientific community, saying they have also responded to this crisis with heroic and historic speed. “CVS Health is honored to distribute those life-saving vaccines, playing our part in the recovery of American health and well-being. This work is at the heart of our mission to be there for every meaningful moment of health throughout a person’s lifetime.”
