CVS Health said on Thursday that it would open more Covid-19 testing centers at some of its pharmacy drive-thru locations. The company also said that it aims to reach its goal of having 1,000 Covod-19 test sites in the U.S. later this week. The additional locations are likely to be opened by the company on Friday.
CVS along with a number of other U.S. retailers have pledged to provide space at their parking lots for such drive-thru sites to help ramp up testing for Covid-19. United States, where coronavirus deaths crossed 100,000 on Wednesday, has been urging a number of retailers to come forward and help the administration and local governments to ramp up testing facilities for Covid-19.
CVS Ramps up Testing Facilities
CVS Health on Thursday said that it would open additional COVID-19 test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations on Friday to establish a total of 1,000 sites across more than 30 states and Washington, DC. The pharmacy chain announced the expansion plans in late April after retail leaders, including the company's CEO Larry Merlo, visited the White House and met with President Donald Trump.
CVS said that it be offering will self-swab tests at some of the stores' drive-thru pharmacy windows. More than 50 per cent of the company's 1,000 test sites will serve communities with the greatest need for support, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index.
However, those who want to get the tests done need to follow a few rules. People who want to go for the tests first need fulfill the criteria set by the CDC along with the ones set by the respective states. Also, they need to register in advance on the CVS website before visiting the company's pharmacy. The tests will be sent to third-party lab to be processed.
Retailers Help in Fight Coronavirus
The new CVS sites that will open on Friday will add to the 50 locations that the company has already converted into Covid-19 testing sites this month in states like Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The company aims to conduct 1.5 million tests per month starting June. Since offering the first COVID-19 testing at a pilot site outside a CVS Pharmacy in Shrewsbury, in mid-March, the company has performed around 200,000 tests nationally.
CVS isn't the only company to have been coming up with Covid-19 testing facilities across the United States. A large number of retailers like Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walmart and Target Corporation too have pledged to provide space at their parking lots to be converted into drive-thru Covid-19 testing centers.
