CVS to offer three over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for use at home

(Reuters) -CVS Health Corp said on Monday it would offer three over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at its drugstores as well as online starting this week, expanding access to home testing in the United States.

With schools and offices seeking to reopen as the country steps up its COVID-19 vaccination drive, pharmacies are boosting their test offerings.

CVS said it was offering tests from Australian diagnostic test maker Ellume, Abbott Laboratories and LabCorp that do not require a prescription and can be used by individuals with or without symptoms.

Abbott's BinaxNOW antigen self-test, which received U.S. regulatory nod last month, and LabCorp's test kits would be available at some pharmacy stores and online, CVS said.

Separately, Abbott said its test would also be available at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc in the next few days and would be sold in packs containing two tests each for $23.99 per pack.

Both Walmart and Walgreens would sell the test online as well as in stores, the companies said.

Shares of Abbott were up 0.6% at $125.04.

CVS is the first drug retailer to offer Ellume's test, the company said, adding the test would be available in select pharmacy locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and at CVS.com this week, and in most pharmacy stores by the end of May.

Ellume and Abbott's tests can deliver results in 15 minutes, while LabCorp's test gives results in one or two days.

(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Shinjini Ganguli)