- The Clinical Reference Laboratory’s COVID-19 saliva test is now available through Walgreens’ Find Care.
- If you meet one or more of the clinical guidelines for COVID-19 testing, you can order the $119 pack.
- You just have to spit in a vial and then post it to a lab via a pre-paid FedEx package.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Walgreens has started selling an FDA-authorized COVID-19 saliva test that you can take at home.
The Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL)’s rapid response COVID-19 saliva test costs $119, and is available through Walgreens’ online Find Care division.
It doesn’t need nasal swabs – instead, you spit into a vial and post it to a lab using a prepaid FedEx priority overnight shipping package.
Customers typically get results between 24 and 48 hours after the test arrives at the lab, CRL says. The company sends the results both via an online portal and via text or voice message to customers’ phones.
If a customer tests positive, they are contacted by an independent telemedicine provider, who tells them what to do next, according to CRL.
You can order the test via Walgreens Find Care, which redirects you to a questionnaire by CRL about your symptoms. If you meet one or more of the clinical guidelines for COVID-19 testing, you can order the pack.
CRL received FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the PCR test in July 2020. In the FDA filing, the test demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity, CRL said.
The company has distributed and processed more than 500,000 tests to date, it added.
Walgreens is the latest retailer to start selling FDA-authorized COVID-19 saliva tests that you can take at home, joining companies including Amazon, Costco, and Walmart.
Insider's Brittany Chang compared Amazon and Walmart's tests, and found Amazon's had a faster result turnaround time and clearer instructions.