The Exposure of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Assistants to COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study in Libya

Introduction: As per the WHO reports dated July 7, 2021, 184,324,026 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were found in the world and 196,894 cases were found in Libya. Healthcare workers (HCWs), pharmacists, in particular, have been affected a lot because of COVID-19. Community pharmacies are considered workplaces with elevated exposure risk to COVID-19. Method: This study aims to roughly estimate the risk of COVID-19 exposure among pharmacists and pharmacy assistants working in pharmacies in Libya. An anonymous cross-sectional online survey was conducted among pharmacists and pharmacy assistants working in hospital pharmacies and community pharmacies. Between November 11th, 2020 and January 7th, 2021, a Google Form questionnaire was delivered through social media and instant messaging platforms, to certified community pharmacists and pharmacy assistants residing in Libya. Results: Out of 207 respondents, the majority (72.4%) reported having at least one or more flu-like symptoms. In addition, 52.17% of them reported that one of their relatives had at least one or more flu-like symptoms. The most common symptoms reported by respondents were headache (46.9%), tiredness (42.5%), fever (31.9%), and loss of smell and taste sensation (29.0%). The period with the highest number of all the symptomatic respondents as well as those with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 was between August to October 2020. Correspondingly, 108 (52.17%) symptomatic respondents had a relative with symptoms. Conclusion: The majority of respondents reported having flu-like symptoms in the period from August to October. Moreover, the highest cumulative number of people with suggestive COVID-19 symptoms reported their symptoms in the same period.