Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS Health have launched drive-thru testing for SARS-CoV-2, the companies announced in separate press releases.
The testing efforts are part of a plan at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide temporary drive-thru testing in COVID-19 hot spots.
Rite Aid currently is offering drive-thru testing at 24 store locations in eight states, with a capacity to conduct nearly 5,000 tests daily. At Rite Aid, patients utilize self-swab nasal tests overseen by Rite Aid pharmacists. BioReference Laboratories is performing testing on specimens collected at Rite Aid locations, and Verily Life Science—a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company—is providing screening, scheduling, and results reporting to patients through its Baseline COVID-19 testing program.
Walgreens is also using pharmacists to oversee patients’ collection of self-swab nasal specimens. To perform testing, Walgreens is using Abbott’s ID NOW COVID-19 test on-site. The pharmacy giant is offering drive-thru testing at nine locations in five states, but it expects to expand to 15 locations.
PWNHealth, a national clinician network that enables safe and easy access to diagnostic testing, is providing clinical oversight for the testing operations at Rite Aid and Walgreens.
Meanwhile, CVS Health is taking a different approach. The company is offering drive-thru testing at a variety of locations—such as parking lots of movie theaters or libraries—but none of the testing occurs at local CVS locations. CVS testing is overseen by providers from the retail pharmacy’s MinuteClinics, with assistance from CVS pharmacists. Like Walgreens, CVS is using the Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test.
