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Another Walgreens closes in Roxbury, raising concerns of ‘pharmacy deserts’
Three Walgreens closed within a week in 2022 in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods. The Warren Street Walgreens is set to close on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
A Walgreens in Roxbury is reportedly set to shutter by Monday, which will mark the pharmacy giant’s fourth closure in majority Black and brown neighborhoods in the city in recent years.
Residents protested the closure of the Walgreens at 416 Warren St. in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, which also lost a Walgreens in late 2022. Two other locations, in Hyde Park and Mattapan, also closed that week.
Roxbury is more than 45% Black and 28% Hispanic or Latino, demographic data shows. The same data shows that 44% of residents don’t have access to a car.
Residents looking for the nearest alternatives may face tough commutes. The closest Walgreens is on Columbus Avenue, which is about a 22 minute walk from the Warren Street location. A CVS on Dimock Street is also about a 20 minute walk.
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Back in 2022, Boston city councilors raised concerns about creating “pharmacy deserts” in the neighborhoods.
“We already have a hard enough time getting the medical prescriptions that we need,” At-Large Councilor Julia Mejia said in November, 2022. “Now we’re going to have to find other spaces and places to be able to have access to life-saving medication.”
Councilors worked quickly to halt all other closures of Walgreens locations in Boston, but the resolution stalled in committee, according to The Boston Globe.
In a statement to the Globe, Walgreens said that as they intend to “be the independent partner of choice, not just in pharmacy but also in healthcare services where we can improve healthcare, lower costs, and help patients, we need the right network of stores.”
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Walgreens said they consider their “existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers” when they choose to close a store.
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