As mentioned, McCoy didn’t have a sonic screwdriver when he played The Doctor, but rather an umbrella that, while more useful than the average umbrella, was not quite a technological achievement.
The gadget is often used as a convenient plot device for The Doctor to fix whatever impossible situation he/she has gotten into.
I would argue that Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver much less than the more recent Doctors before her, but the point is taken all the same.