COVID-19 testing available at 15 S.C. CVS locations

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Drive-thru COVID-19 testing will be available at 15 CVS sites in S.C., including two in Columbia and one in West Columbia, beginning Friday.

The sites will use self-swab tests and help the pharmacy meet an announced goal of establishing 1,000 testing locations nationwide by the end of May, according to a news release.  

“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," Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health, said in the release. “Opening access to testing in more locations using our drive-thru window represents an important milestone in our response to the pandemic.”

More than half of those test sites will serve communities with the greatest need for support as tracked by the Centers for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index, which measures factors including poverty, access to transportation, and housing.  

Appointments must be scheduled in advance at CVS.com. The free tests will be self-administered inside vehicles and observed by a CVS pharmacy technician. Processing will be conducted at an independent, third-party lab, with results available in approximately three days, according to the release.

Participating CVS sites in the Midlands are located at 900 Assembly St. and 4310 Hardscrabble Road in Columbia and at 2401 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia.

“CVS Health is one of our state’s many great partners that are committed to helping South Carolinians,” S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said in the release. “Our testing capabilities are expanding every day, and this latest innovation is yet another tool we have at our disposal to chase this virus and better understand how it is impacting our people.”

Also Friday, a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site will open in the parking lot of the Walmart on Garners Ferry Road. The site, which will serve first responders, health care providers, indivdiuals with symptoms and aysmptomatic individuals in high-risk groups, wiill be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m., according to a news release.

Free testing will also be provided on Tuesday at White Knoll High School in Lexington County from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. No appointments are necessary for the testing, provided through a partnership of Lexington Medical Center and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Testing kits, provided by DHEC, will be processed at a third-party lab, according to a news release. 

The 15 S.C. CVS locations providing drive-thru testing are:

• 1405 East Greenville St., Anderson
• 2566 Ashley River Road, Charleston
• 1300 Tiger Blvd., Clemson
• 900 Assembly St., Columbia
• 4310 Hardscrabble Road, Columbia
• 2210 Laurens Road, Greenville
• 3901 Pelham Road, Greenville
• 3300 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville
• 1676 Hwy. 17 N., Mount Pleasant  
• 3411 Socastee Blvd., Myrtle Beach
• 1303 38th Ave. N., Myrtle Beach
• 8995 University Blvd., North Charleston
• 101 Edgefield Road, North Augusta
• 1751 E. Main St., Spartanburg
• 2401 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia