CVS Announces Over-The-Counter, At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits

PROVIDENCE, RI — CVS will start offering over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 test kits, the Rhode Island-based pharmacy giant announced Monday. Three test kits will be available, intended for people with or without symptoms.

"Access to testing continues to be an important part of the nation's pandemic response. Making OTC COVID-19 tests available to our customers helps remove barriers by providing convenient options for testing," said George Coleman, CVS's senior vice president and chief merchant. "CVS Health has been a leader in providing accessible testing in communities nationwide, and we continue to bring new solutions to market to ensure that consumers have a variety of COVID-19 testing options available to them."

The test kits will be available without a prescription, and were all given Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Kits are not covered by insurance, CVS said in a statement, and "are not meant to diagnose acute COVID-19 infection or test the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination."

The test kits available are:

Ellume COVID-19 Home Test Kit

• Cost: $38.99
• This test kit was the first to be authorized for emergency use by the FDA for at-home, non-prescription use. Test results are provided within 15 minutes, using a free smartphone app. Second tests are not required.
• The test kits will become available in Massachusetts and Rhode Island starting this week, with availability increasing in-store and online by the end of May.

Abbott Binax NOW COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test

• Cost: $23.99
• The rapid-test kit provides results in 15 minutes. Each kit contains two tests, which should be administered twice over a three-day period, with at least 36 hours between tests.
• Kits are available online and in 5,600 CVS stores by the end of this week.

Pixel by Labcorp Home Collection Kit

• This kit is a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, kit, using the same process as test sites across Rhode Island, Massachusetts and the rest of the U.S. test results are provided within one to two days through the Pixel by Labcorp website.
• Kits are available online and at certain CVS stores in Alabama, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.