The concept of drive-thrus, traditionally associated with fast-food restaurants, is now being used to fast-track coronavirus tests in the US. On March 13, 2020, President Trump announced that his administration was partnering with major pharmacies and retailers to set up drive-thru coronavirus-testing sites at their locations, in a bid to increase nationwide testing capacity. At each site, an individual can drive up and be swabbed without having to leave their car. Major drugstores—including CVS and Walgreens—and big-box retailers with pharmacies, such as Walmart, pledged to make space available in their parking lots to set up drive-thru testing facilities. In a follow-up meeting held on April 27, 2020, a number of retailers—including CVS, Kroger, Walgreens and Walmart—joined the government to announce the next phase of the coronavirus-testing project, which involves scaling up testing capacity and expanding the number of locations. Drugstore Chains Lead the Way in Coronavirus Testing With their roots in healthcare, CVS and Walgreens are leading from the front by getting testing sites up and running. CVS was operating five testing sites across five US states as of April 27, 2020: Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island. According to the company, most of these sites are capable of conducting 1,000 tests per day. Testing is overseen by CVS pharmacists and licensed healthcare providers from MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS. The drive-thru testing sites are located in parking lots that have enough space for multiple lanes. No coronavirus testing takes place inside CVS Pharmacy stores or MinuteClinic locations. Testing was initially focused on first responders and healthcare workers, but was later made available to all eligible individuals who meet the testing criteria outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Patients are required to register online in advance in order to schedule a same-day time slot for testing. CVS plans to have up to 1,000 testing locations set up nationwide by the end of May and intends to process 1.5 million tests per month. CVS is using Abbott Laboratories’ “ID Now” Covid-19 rapid-response test at its drive-thru locations, which delivers positive results within five minutes and negative results within 13 minutes. [caption id="attachment_109585" align="aligncenter" width="700"] A CVS Covid-19 drive-thru testing site
Source: CVS Health[/caption]   Walgreens announced on April 27 that it will open drive-thru Covid-19 testing locations in 49 US states and Puerto Rico. The new sites will be decided in collaboration with federal health agencies and state and local authorities. The company added that it is working with global life-sciences company LabCorp to triple its testing capacity and eventually plans to test more than 50,000 people per week. The new drive-thru testing sites will use LabCorp’s Covid-19 nasal-swab diagnostic test. Walgreens was operating 18 coronavirus drive-thru testing locations across 11 states by April 27. All drive-thru testing is being conducted outside Walgreens pharmacies, and patients are instructed to stay in their vehicles. Walgreens opened its first drive-thru testing site in Chicago on March 22, which was initially available only for first responders, healthcare workers and elderly people aged over 65. Over time, the company opened more sites and eventually made testing available to all eligible members of the public at all its locations, by appointment only. To determine eligibility—according to the criteria outlined by the CDC—and receive a test, individuals must first complete an online health assessment by visiting Walgreens.com. Walmart and Kroger Step Up Efforts To Do Their Part Since launching two drive-thru coronavirus-testing sites for healthcare workers and first responders in two of its Chicago-area stores on March 22, Walmart plans to have set up more than 100 testing sites by the end of May. The sites, which are located mainly in hot spots and underserved areas, will have the capacity to administer nearly 20,000 tests per week. As of April 27, Walmart had opened 20 sites in 12 states, and according to the company, almost 13,000 people had been tested at just one of those sites. Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Company, also announced plans to expand its drive-thru coronavirus-testing sites to 50 locations in more than 12 states by the end of May. The company also expects to have conducted up to 100,000 tests by that time. As of April 27, Kroger Health had administered almost 8,000 tests in 30 locations in Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Individuals eligible for testing include healthcare workers, first responders and symptomatic individuals, based on CDC recommendations. On May 4, 2020, Kroger announced that it is offering free coronavirus testing at drive-thru locations to its employees, if they have symptoms or qualify based on medical need. Key Insights As some US states begin to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home orders, the need for increased testing has become a focal point to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Major drugstore chains and big-box retailers with pharmacies have answered the call by utilizing their large physical footprint across the country to provide medical care. Drive-thru testing services offered by these companies can handle large volumes of individuals who are suffering from mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all, thus decreasing the traffic around health facilities. A key enabler of the expansion of drive-thru testing is that pharmacists are able to take a lead role in administering tests, which dramatically increases the number of additional healthcare professionals joining the fight on front lines.