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CVS Health has announced plans to open 10 drive-thru coronavirus test sites at pharmacies around Rhode Island starting Friday.
The new CVS pharmacy “self-swab” sites will use standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, Joseph Wendelken, a Health Department spokesman, said. The PCR test amplifies viral genetic material if it is present; the material is detectable only when a person is actively infected. (NPR has reported on the reliability of these tests.) The nasal self-swab test samples will be processed by independent laboratories, Joseph Goode, a CVS spokesman, said in an email. As a result, patients won’t get their test results for about three days. These are different from the rapid-tests used at the CVS site at Twin River in Lincoln, he said, which were recently the subject of an FDA warning about potential problems with their accuracy.
The opening of the new drive-thru test sites come as Gov. Gina Raimondo is working to ramp up testing — currently at about 3,000 people per day — as she plans to begin phase two of the reopening of the economy on June 1. Raimondo has set a goal to test 10,000 people per day by July, and 20,000 people per day by September.
Rhode Island’s new drive-thru sites are among 1,000 test sites around the country — including 26 in Massachusetts — that CVS has said it plans to open by the end of this month. CVS said the new test sites are designed to help reach the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month, subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity.
“CVS Health has been at the forefront of helping our nation scale-up COVID-19 testing capabilities,’’ Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Health, said in a statement. “Opening access to testing in more locations using our drive-thru window represents an important milestone in our response to the pandemic…’’
CVS said that more than half 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’s Social Vulnerability Index. The index tracks census data including poverty, lack of access to transportation, and crowded housing that can make communities more vulnerable to outbreaks.
Self-swab tests will be available to individuals meeting CDC criteria, in addition to state and age guidelines, CVS said. To be tested, patients register in advance at CVS.com starting Friday. When they arrive for their scheduled appointment, patients must remain in their cars and will be directed to the pharmacy drive-thru window, where they will be provided with a test kit and given instructions. A CVS pharmacy employee will observe the self-swab process to ensure it is done properly. Tests will be sent to an independent, third-party lab for processing.
The new testing sites in Rhode Island include:
- CVS Pharmacy, 1776 Broad Street, Cranston, RI 02905
- CVS Pharmacy, 2250 New London Turnpike, East Greenwich, RI 02818
- CVS Pharmacy, 1285 South County Trail, East Greenwich, RI 02818
- CVS Pharmacy, 63 Newport Avenue, East Providence, RI 02916
- CVS Pharmacy, 26 Putnam Pike, Johnston, RI 02919
- CVS Pharmacy, 1123 Boston Neck Road, Narragansett, RI 02882
- CVS Pharmacy, 935 Manton Avenue, Providence, RI 02909
- CVS Pharmacy, 960 Broad Street, Providence, RI 02905
- CVS Pharmacy, 834 Providence Street, West Warwick, RI 02887
- CVS Pharmacy, 151 Franklin Street, Westerly, RI 02891
See the complete list of CVS Pharmacy drive-thru test sites here.
— Lynn Arditi, health reporter, larditi@thepublicsradio.org
