Gov. Phil Murphy’s call for even more testing sites will be answered Thursday, when CVS Health will announce it has added 45 additional drive-thru test sites (the list is below).
These sites will utilize self-swab tests and deliver on the company’s commitment to establish 1,000 locations across the country by the end of May.
The company, which announced 11 New Jersey locations April 27, hopes the additional sites will enable it to meet the company’s goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month.
Murphy, during his daily COVID-19 briefing Wednesday, said the state is headed in the right direction, but it will need more information to take additional steps in recovery.
“We need to get more data,” he said. “Our hospitals are a tremendous source of the benchmark data we need. But more data means we get a fuller picture. More data means we get a better sense of where COVID-19 still exists, and where hotspots could become flare-ups — so we can take quick corrective measures to stamp them out.
“And, that data must come from a rigorous testing program.”
The state, which has more than 160 testing sites, has reached its stated goal of 20,000 daily tests by the end of May — in fact, 30,000 tests were taken May 23.
Murphy, however, said the state needs to have more testing. That’s where Murphy is leaning on CVS and others to help.
CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo said the company is ready to help.
“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,” he said. “Opening access to testing to more locations using our drive-thru window represents an important milestone in our response to the pandemic. We remain grateful for the daily efforts and sacrifices of our front-line colleagues who make the continued expansion of our testing possible.”
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, Merlo said. 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 May 29, 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.
The additional new testing sites in New Jersey include:
- CVS Pharmacy, 557 S. Atlantic Ave., Aberdeen;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2311 Route 206, Belle Mead;
- CVS Pharmacy, 5000 Route 42, Blackwood;
- CVS Pharmacy, 440 Union Ave., Bridgewater;
- CVS Pharmacy, 3313 Brigantine Blvd., Brigantine ;
- CVS Pharmacy, 3002 Mount Ephraim Ave., Camden;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1 Route 70 E., Cherry Hill;
- CVS Pharmacy, 9 Berlin Road, Clementon;
- CVS Pharmacy, 380 Route 18, East Brunswick;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1300 Woodlane Road, Eastampton;
- CVS Pharmacy, 65 River Road, Edgewater;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1133 Inman Ave., Edison;
- CVS Pharmacy, 8 Eden Ave., Edison;
- CVS Pharmacy, 798 Route 202, Flemington;
- CVS Pharmacy, 74 S. Lakeview Drive, Gibbsboro;
- CVS Pharmacy, 200 Route 33, Hamilton Township;
- CVS Pharmacy, 524 Mullica Hill Road, Harrison;
- CVS Pharmacy, 3391 Highway 35, Hazlet;
- CVS Pharmacy, 470 Route 36, Highlands;
- CVS Pharmacy, 890 Bennetts Mills Road, Jackson Township;
- CVS Pharmacy, 15 Boonton Turnpike, Lincoln Park;
- CVS Pharmacy, 253 Gordon’s Corner Road, Manalapan;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2920 Route 73 N., Maple Shade;
- CVS Pharmacy, 483 Route 79, Marlboro;
- CVS Pharmacy, 27 Morristown Road, Matawan;
- CVS Pharmacy, 137 Route 70, Medford;
- CVS Pharmacy, 508 High Street, Mount Holly;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2257 U.S. Highway 1 S., North Brunswick;
- CVS Pharmacy, 5740 Berkshire Valley Road, Oak Ridge;
- CVS Pharmacy, 911 Highway 35, Ocean Township;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2988 Route 516, Old Bridge;
- CVS Pharmacy, 394 Broadway, Passaic;
- CVS Pharmacy, 4315 Marlton Pike, Pennsauken;
- CVS Pharmacy, 4 Schalks Crossing Road, Plainsboro;
- CVS Pharmacy, 900 North New Road, Pleasantville;
- CVS Pharmacy, 881 State Highway 206, Princeton;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2281 Route 33, Robbinsville;
- CVS Pharmacy, 824 Black Horse Pike, Runnemede;
- CVS Pharmacy, 11 Theatre Centre Street, Sparta;
- CVS Pharmacy, 77 Route 206, Stanhope;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1357 Lakewood Road, Toms River;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1200-1248 Greenwood Ave., Trenton;
- CVS Pharmacy, 2078 U.S. Highway 9 S., Upper Township;
- CVS Pharmacy, 3629 E. Landis Ave., Vineland;
- CVS Pharmacy, 1239 S. Blackhorse Pike, Williamstown.
