CBS News, August 9, 2022
Andrea Flores
You may have heard about food deserts, areas where access to fresh food might not be easily accessible.
But pockets of Chicago — particularly on the South and West sides — also lack convenient access to a local pharmacy.
Dima Qato, director of the University of Southern California’s School of Pharmacy Program on Medicines and Public Health, coined the term “pharmacy deserts” to describe communities with low access to local pharmacies. Pharmacy deserts exist when at least a third of the residents live over a mile from a pharmacy, or if a third of residents live in “low vehicle access” but the nearest pharmacy is more than half a mile away.
When Qato began her research 10 years ago at the University of Illinois Chicago, she noticed a crucial component that was not being discussed.
“Pharmacies are vital to communities, they provide access not only to medicines but a variety of other essential services, including vaccinations,” Qato said.
The importance of pharmacies became quite apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Qato, Chicago has some of the worst pharmacy access in the country, but even more so when you look at the disparities between Black, White and Latinx neighborhoods. Only 1% of White neighborhoods were pharmacy deserts, compared to 42% of Black neighborhoods.