Medical workers take a patient's coronavirus test during a trial run for a new FEMA drive-thru ... [+]
CVS Health, Walgreens, Walmart and other retailers with pharmacies are prepping hundreds of parking lots and store drive-thru windows in a much-anticipated effort to test Americans for the Coronavirus strain COVID-19.
The nation’s largest drugstore chains and other big retailers with pharmacies and related capabilities pledged more than a month ago in a White House meeting to aid the federal government and local health officials in providing access to COVID-19 testing. But testing in these locations, which number about 70 across the country so far, has been slow to roll out and thus far largely considered piloting of efforts to test healthcare workers and first responders and others on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19.
But a follow-up meeting Monday at the White House has revealed a new wave of testing locations CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart called the “next phase” to use their “expansive community presence to bring testing closer to home while maintaining strict safety standards,” as one of the retailers said.
By the end of May, there could be nearly 2,000 retail sites open with CVS alone promising up to 1,000 sites. The retailers with drugstore chains have more than 20,000 stores across the U.S. and locations will be made public in coming weeks.
Offering “self-swab tests” to those who meet certain criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the massive diagnostic effort will take place in parking lots or via drive-thru windows. No testing will take place inside retail stores, the retailers said.
“Our industry has been united by the unique role we can play in addressing the pandemic and protecting people’s health,” CVS president and chief executive Larry Merlo said. “We all share the same goal, and that’s dramatically increasing the frequency and efficiency of testing so we can slow the spread of the virus and start to responsibly reopen the economy when experts tell us it’s safe.”
In CVS’ case, the company said it expects to have “up to 1,000 locations across the country offering this service by the end of May, with the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity.”
Walgreens, meanwhile, didn’t disclose a specific number of testing sites but said it expects to test more than 50,000 people each week. “This public-private partnership remains critical to keeping our communities healthy and enabling more Americans to return to work once they can do so safely,” Walgreens president Richard Ashworth said.
Walgreens said its new testing sites will use LabCorp’s COVID-19 nasal swab diagnostic test to determine whether people have the virus.
In addition, Walgreens said LabCorp effective Monday is offering “antibody blood testing at more than 100 LabCorp at Walgreens patient service center locations.” Such antibody blood tests are different than those to detect whether someone has the virus in that they look for “the presence of antibodies to the virus and can help identify individuals who have been exposed to the virus,” Walgreens said.
“We are bringing the full force of LabCorp’s science and testing capabilities to serve individuals across the U.S. whether they had the virus or believe they have the virus,” LabCorp CEO Adam Schechter said.
Walmart Monday described its testing effort as “evolving and improving.” Walmart said it is now “supporting 20 sites in 12 states” with more opening every day.
This week alone, Walmart will open 25 more sites and expects to be operating “more than 100 sites, assuming there is adequate lab capacity.”
“With 100 sites we can bring 20,000 tests a week to people who need them, especially in hot spots and underserved areas,” the retail giant said.
