DANVERS, MASS. (WHDH) - CVS Health opened nine new drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites across Massachusetts on Friday after one selected location opted out due to resident concerns.
The healthcare company originally announced that 10 test sites would be opening, but Wellesley Communication and Project Manager Stephanie Hawkinson said the town decided not to participate after residents complained about the potential for long lines and traffic problems.
“We reached out to them just to talk a little bit about the location because it is a very densely populated area. There’s a big Roche Bros. supermarket right there, a lot of traffic,” she said, “so we were concerned about the long lines of people waiting for the drive-thru testing.”
Another issue that came up is that the CVS on Linden Street is the only spot in town with a drive-thru MinuteClinic.
“We feel like there could be other locations in Wellesley that would be more appropriate for the drive-thru testing and we look forward to working with CVS to see if we could make that happen,” Hawkinson said.
Nine other locations in Massachusetts are part of the first rollout of CVS Health’s new sites, which includes 51 locations in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida and Pennsylvania.
The new testing sites in Massachusetts include:
CVS Pharmacy, 142 Worcester Road, Charlton, MA 01507
CVS Pharmacy, 44 West Boylston Street, Worcester, MA 01608
CVS Pharmacy, 266 Route 44, Raynham, MA 02767
CVS Pharmacy, 366 King Street, Northampton, MA 01060
CVS Pharmacy, 9-19 Summer Street, Bridgewater, MA 02324
CVS Pharmacy, 100D North Main Street, Carver, MA 02330
CVS Pharmacy, 928 Riverdale Street, West Springfield, MA 01089
CVS Pharmacy, 311 Newbury Street, Danvers, MA 01923
CVS Pharmacy, 599 State Road, Westport, MA 02790
Patients who schedule an appointment in advance at CVS.com will be given self-swab test under the guidance of a CVS Pharmacy team member, who will make sure 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.
Gov. Charlie Baker said, “By working with a wide range of partners like CVS and our colleagues in the health care community, Massachusetts has significantly increased COVID-19 testing and is a national leader in per-capita testing.
“We are grateful to CVS for their partnership on this major additional testing expansion at a number of sites across the Commonwealth, especially because we recognize the importance of continued and accessible testing as we move toward a responsible, phased reopening of our economy,” he added.
CVS Health says they expect 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.
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