CVS Expands Free Coronavirus Testing In Orange County

Ashley Ludwig
·3 min read

ANAHEIM, CA — CVS Health announced Thursday it is expanding its COVID- 19 no-cost testing program by adding 35 more test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thrus across California, including another location in Southwest Riverside County, amid a surge in new coronavirus cases.

The opening of additional test sites on Friday adds to the 107 locations previously opened statewide, including one in Orange County County.

The nearly 200 additional test sites opening across the country this week are among the more than 1,400 locations CVS Health has opened since May and expand the company's testing capacity to more than 1.5 million tests per month, subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity, according to President and CEO Larry J. Merlo.

Nearly 60 percent of the company's 1,400 test sites across the country, including 81 percent of sites in California, are in counties that serve communities with the greatest need for support, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index.

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 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, in addition to state and age guidelines.

Patients must register in advance to schedule an appointment at https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing.

Patients will be required to stay in their cars and will be directed to the pharmacy drive-thru window or a location in the parking lot at a few stores, 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 about 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 testing sites opening Friday in Orange County County are located at the following CVS pharmacies:

  • -- CVS Pharmacy, 1676 W. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802

Previously opened Orange County testing sites are located at CVS pharmacies at:

  • -- 510 S. Beach Blvd., Anaheim;

  • -- 611 S. Brookhurst St., Anaheim;

  • -- 1150 Baker St., Costa Mesa;*

  • -- 2701 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa;

  • -- 455 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton;

  • -- 155 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach;

  • -- 16961 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach;

  • -- 15520 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach;

  • -- 16922 Bolsa Chica St., Huntington Beach;

  • -- 17625 Harvard Ave., Irvine;

  • -- 1151 S. Harbor Blvd., La Habra;

  • -- 3401 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos;

  • -- 921 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach;*

  • -- 602 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente;

  • -- 12444 Beach Blvd., Stanton;

  • -- 15180 Kensington Park Drive, Tustin;

  • -- 18080 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda.*

*The Orange County sites that opened on May 22.

This article originally appeared on the Newport Beach-Corona Del Mar Patch