CVS Reaches Goal To Open 1,000 Coronavirus Test Sites

CVS Health Thursday said it is delivering as promised to open 1,000 testing locations for the Coronavirus strain Covid-19.

The scale of the openings comes more than two months after CVS, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Rite Aid, Walmart and other retailers pledged in White House meetings to use their thousands of locations, including parking lots to expand U.S. testing for COVID-19. In CVS Health’s case, the sites that will all be open Friday will use “self-swab tests” as part of a newer phase of testing by the giant drugstore chain.

“It’s no small feat to operationalize 1,000 test sites in weeks under trying circumstances, which is a credit to our employees and their unwavering commitment to being part of the solution,” CVS Health president and chief executive Larry Merlo said. “Our testing strategy will continue to evolve and make the most effective use of our resources as we work to help safely re-open the economy.”

CVS is hoping to dramatically ramp up testing by processing up to 1.5 million tests every month. Currently, CVS processes about 30,000 tests for COVID-19 a week in five states as part of a rollout that began several weeks ago with a focus on front-line healthcare workers and first responders.

“Since first offering COVID-19 testing at a pilot site outside a CVS Pharmacy in Shrewsbury, Mass., in mid-March, the company has performed nearly 200,000 tests nationwide,” the company said in a statement released Thursday.

CVS Health’s announcement should be welcome news for the Trump administration, which announced the participation of the retailers in March and has been vowing to provide access to COVID-19 testing to all Americans, but has been dogged by criticism.

Patients can register at CVS’ web site to get tested.