DoorDash announced on Monday (March 22) that it would offer customers access to COVID-19 home collection kits through a partnership with Vault Health and Everlywell.
According to a company blog post, DoorDash will roll out the program in 12 American cities, working with Vault Health (maker of the COVID-19 Saliva Test Kit) and Everlywell (creator of the COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit 19).
“Vault makes diagnostic testing easy, comfortable and very fast across the U.S.,” Vault Founder and CEO Jason Feldman said in a news release. “Our partnership with DoorDash unlocks same-day access to our easy-to-collect saliva COVID test, allowing a patient to spit into a tube and receive their results in 24 hours to get them back to travel, work, school and family time.”
Dr. Marisa Cruz, Everlywell’s head of clinical affairs, said that this fast-turnaround represents “a significant step forward for public health.”
Both kits will be available at DoorDash’s DashMart locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Baltimore, with other cities to be added to the list in the coming months. The Vault Health Kit sells for $119, while the Everlywell kit is $109. Both kits may be eligible for insurance reimbursement.
“DoorDash is harnessing the power of our last-mile logistics platform to get healthcare products to customers quickly, whether they are shopping on DoorDash or directly on a business’ website,” the company said on its website. “By offering fulfillment services to merchants via DashMart and DoorDash Drive, we can power same-day delivery for businesses without a physical footprint, facilitating access to more of what customers need and want.”
Other companies outside the health sector have taken steps to help customers through the pandemic. Last month, PYMNTS reported on a joint PayPal/Uber initiative to offer people free or discounted rides to inoculation sites.
Getting test kits through DoorDash (or calling an Uber to get inoculated) are signs of a “new normal” to which consumers have adjusted in the past year, as outlined in PYMNTS’ report on changed consumer habits.