Wellesley CVS Pulls Out Of Coronavirus Testing Deal

WELLESLEY, MA — Wellesley CVS announced on Thursday night that it will not go through with a plan to open a drive-thru testing site in town. The site would have been one of 10 new coronavirus testing sites that CVS Health is planning to open across Massachusetts on Friday.

In a statement released Thursday night, CVS said the town was concerned about the Linden Street testing location since it is adjoining one of the busiest grocery stores in town.

"CVS Health is committed to helping increase COVID-19 testing in Massachusetts to help slow the spread of the virus. We’re also committed to being a good partner with local officials in the communities we serve and to listen to their concerns. At this time, our Linden St. store in Wellesley will not be one of our stores providing COVID-19 testing at drive-thru windows as previously announced today. We are proceeding with drive-thru testing at 9 other locations in Massachusetts, and plan to add more by the end of May. We apologize for any inconvenience, and look forward to continuing to serve the community with expanded testing at our other locations beginning on Friday, May 15," the CVS statement reads.

CVS is making a push to open 1,000 testing sites open across the U.S. by the end of May, with the capacity to handle 1.5 million tests per month. The 10 new testing sites in Massachusetts will offer self-swab tests, where patients will be given a test in the drive-thru lane that they will administer in their car. Test results will be ready within three days, according to the company.

Rhode Island-based CVS opened one of the first coronavirus testing sites in Shrewsbury in March. The site initially served only first responders and people over age 65. The facility was closed when CVS opened a large-scale testing site in Lowell.