CVS opens COVID-19 testing site

CVS opens COVID-19 testing site
CVS' only West Michigan testing site is at 1550 Lake Drive SE. <strong>Courtesy CVS Health</strong>

CVS Health announced it opened a new COVID-19 test site in Grand Rapids on Friday at the CVS Pharmacy drive-thru location at 1550 Lake Drive SE.

This new site will be one of 16 openings throughout Michigan and the only one in West Michigan. The sites will utilize self-swab tests and move toward the company’s goal to establish 1,000 locations across the country by the end of May.

These new test sites also help enable a 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, and we’re proud to meet our goal of establishing 1,000 testing sites in communities across the country,” said Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health. “Opening access to testing in more locations using our drive-thru window represents an important milestone in our response to the pandemic.”

More than half of the company’s 1,000 test sites will serve communities with the greatest need for support, as measured by the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index. The index tracks a variety of census variables, including poverty, lack of access to transportation and crowded housing that may weaken a community’s ability to prepare for and recover from hazardous events like natural disasters and disease outbreaks.

Self-swab tests will be available to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, in addition to state and age guidelines. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com beginning Friday to schedule an appointment.

Patients will be required to stay 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, and a CVS Pharmacy team member will observe the self-swab process to ensure it is done properly.

Tests will be sent to an independent, third-party lab for processing, and the results will be available in approximately three days.

Testing will not take place inside any retail locations, and CVS Pharmacy, HealthHUB and MinuteClinic will continue to serve customers and patients.