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

CVS Health Corp said on Monday it would offer three over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at its drugstores as well as online, 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 offering of tests.

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 recently received U.S. regulatory nod, and LabCorp's test kits are available online and at some pharmacy stores, CVS said.

Separately, Abbott said its test would also be available at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc.

Walmart will sell the test online and in stores for $19.88 per kit, while Walgreens said the test can initially be purchased online and in-store later this week. 

Walgreens has also been selling LabCorp's test kits since early this month. CVS is the first drug retailer to offer Ellume's test, the company said, adding the test will be available in select pharmacy locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts from this week, and at CVS.com and 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) ((Amruta.Khandekar@thomsonreuters.com;))