THE CEO of a major drug store chain has spoken out about the wave of pharmacists walking off the job to protest harsh working conditions.

Some Walgreens pharmacists called out of work on Monday, which forced some stores to close and left others understaffed.

That action was scheduled to last through Wednesday, Fortune reported.

It came after pharmacists working at least a dozen CVS locations in Kansas, Missouri, refused to work for three days last month.

But these workers weren’t pushing for higher wages or greater benefits.

They just want more support staff to help handle the overwhelming crowds of patients clamoring for the new Covid-19 vaccine in a safe way.

This booster is tailored to fight the XBB.1.5 strain of Omicron, which was prevalent earlier this year.

The “unprecedented demand” for the updated shot has weighed heavy on CVS and other healthcare providers, the company’s CEO Karen Lynch said at a conference organized by Fortune on Monday.

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The companies are currently experiencing “the same level of demand that we were in 2021,” she said.

“Some days we’re doing more per day than we were back then,” Lynch added.

“I think you have to look at the entire environment,” she said.

“There’s just a lot of unrest in health care.”

Workers at Kaiser Permanente undertook a 72 hour strike last week to advocate for better pay and call out chronic understaffing, Reuters reported.

Union leaders and executives were scheduled to engage in negotiations on Thursday.

If the dispute isn’t resolved this month, the unions have notified Kaiser Permanente that there could be another longer strike beginning on November 1.

These strikes came as similar high profile actions have been undertaken by auto and film industry workers.

CVS, Walgreens, and Kaiser Permanante didn’t immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s requests for comment.