GROCERY STORE PHARMACIES NOW SELLING COVID-19 TESTS
Albertsons, Pavilions, Vons at-home kits require questionnaire
Grocery stores Vons, Albertsons and Pavilions are now selling at-home COVID-19 tests throughout Southern California, including every location that has a pharmacy in San Diego.
The tests, which cost patients $140 and can’t be billed through insurance, aren’t just available straight off the shelves, however. Customers must first complete a short medical questionnaire from home. A store pharmacist will review the questionnaire, and, if necessary, contact the patient to schedule an in-store
pickup or home delivery of the test.
The stores stressed that individuals showing symptoms of COVID-19 should not pick
up their tests in-person. Instead, they should send “a representative or choose delivery,” according to a company
statement. “Customers appreciate the convenience and innovation of taking the test from their own home,” said Dan Salemi, group vice president of Albertsons Cos. Pharmacy. “The saliva test is easy to use and comfortable. Patients are never more than a phone call away from our pharmacy’s guidance and care. And the at-home model can help ease the burden on a stressed health care system.”
The tests sold by the grocery stores are one of the most common types, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. It checks for genetic material of the SARSCoV-2 virus in a person’s saliva rather than through a nasal swab. Patients spit in a tube, mail the test to a laboratory with a provided nextday shipping label and bag, and wait.
The Albertsons Companies, which own Vons and Pavilions, said results from the test can be expected in one to three days from the date the laboratory receives the packet. The patient’s results are delivered through text or email.
Made by an East Coast company called Phosphorus Diagnostics, the tests received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June. This authorization is not equivalent to an FDA approval, as it requires less rigorous data to prove its accuracy.