CVS Health expands COVID-19 testing sites throughout Massachusetts

Following on the heels of what it learned during its pilot COVID-19 testing site launched in Shrewsbury, Mass. in March, CVS Health is launching a new rapid testing site in Lowell, Mass. in conjunction with federal and state officials.

The site will provide Massachusetts residents with on-the-spot COVID-19 testing and results at no cost using the new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test, and joins rapid testing sites in Georgia and Rhode Island launched earlier this week.

Similar to the rapid COVID-19 test sites in Georgia and Rhode Island, testing in Lowell will be overseen by licensed health care providers from MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health. Rapid COVID-19 testing will take place in the parking lot of the Showcase Cinemas located at 32 Reiss Avenue, in Lowell; no testing will take place at CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic locations.

“Our initial experience in Massachusetts has enabled us to expand testing into other states while maximizing efficiency and safety,” said Troyen Brennan, chief medical officer and executive vice president of CVS Health. “We are now able to significantly improve upon our testing capabilities in the state, greatly expanding access to testing with rapid results for eligible individuals.”

“By working with a wide range of partners, we have dramatically increased Massachusetts’ COVID-19 testing capacity, and we are grateful to CVS for their partnership in launching this new rapid testing site,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “The continued expansion of testing, along with our new efforts around community tracing, will enable the Commonwealth to better track and slow the spread of this virus.”

CVS Health will be transitioning its efforts to support COVID-19 testing in Massachusetts to the Lowell location, which allows for up to 1,000 patients to be tested per day and receive results on-site so they can properly quarantine or seek treatment as appropriate. As a result, the company will be stopping COVID-19 testing at the original Shrewsbury, Mass. pilot testing site.

Rapid COVID-19 testing will be available to eligible individuals who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to state residency and age guidelines. Patients will need to pre-register in advance online at CVS.com in order to schedule a same-day time slot for testing.