CVS To Open 50+ COVID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Sites

As it works to address the pandemic with testing, CVS Health plans to open over 50 COVID-19 testing sites at designated CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations throughout Connecticut, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The pharmacy chain said the opening of “hundreds” of further test sites throughout the nation will be made known over the next two weeks, according to an announcement.

CVS Health President and CEO Larry J. Merlo said in the announcement, “While the large-scale test sites we’ve been operating since early April have proven successful, this new approach allows us to utilize our presence in communities across the country and bring testing closer to home. Our frontline employees will continue to play a critical role in the testing process, with members of their communities directly benefiting from their dedication and selflessness.”

Self-swab tests will be available to patients who meet the criteria from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as age guidelines. Patients have to sign up ahead of time on the company’s website starting on May 15 to make an appointment. They will have to remain in their vehicles and will be sent to a drive-thru window where they will be given a test kit with instructions.

A CVS Pharmacy staffer will oversee the process to make sure it is completed correctly, and tests will be sent to a third-party lab for processing. Test results will be available in roughly three days, per the announcement.

CVS Health foresees having as many as 1,000 U.S. locations providing the service by the end of May. The company’s goal is to process as many as 1.5 million tests each month, “subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity.”

In separate news, CVS Health reported earlier this month that front store revenues increased 8.5 percent in the three months ending March 31 compared to the prior year, as consumers stocked up on supplies during the pandemic.