AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on Thursday announced 52 additional drive-thru coronavirus testing sites would open at Walgreens across the state.
The drive-thru sites will use Abbott's BinaxNOW rapid antigen point-of-care test, and will be available to people in Maine experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. The additional sites join the 10 Walgreens locations that opened last Friday.
An additional three sites in southern Maine will come online with BinaxNOW next week, bringing the total to 65 locations. Appointments at all locations can be made now by following the steps on Walgreens.com/COVID19Testing. As a result of the increased demand for testing in recent days, appointment availability may vary by location.
Maine DHHS says testing is available through Walgreens at no cost, made possible through an agreement with Maine DHHS to distribute approximately 300,000 BinaxNOW tests. The Abbott test has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for testing symptomatic individuals for COVID-19 within the first 7 days of symptoms.
"The expansion of free rapid antigen testing through Walgreens allows people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to quickly rule out this disease," DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said in a release. "The BinaxNOW tests offer one more layer of protection, but continuing to wear a face covering, avoiding large gatherings, and keeping our distance has never been more important.”
Walgreens BinaxNOW COVID-19 Testing Locations in Maine:
- Auburn: 61 Union St.
- Auburn: 698 Minot Ave.
- Augusta: 403 Water Street
- Augusta: 2007 N. Belfast Ave.
- Bangor: 566 Union St.
- Bangor: 706 Broadway
- Bath: 11 State Rd.
- Belfast: 268 Main St.
- Bethel: 28 Mayville Rd.
- Biddeford: 335 Alfred St.
- Blue Hill: 17 South St.
- Boothbay Harbor: 223 Townsend Ave.
- Brewer: 437 Wilson St.
- Buxton: 226 Parker Farm Rd.
- Calais: 223 North St.
- Caribou: 112 Bennett Dr.
- Cornish: 151 Maple St.
- Damariscotta: 365 Main St.
- Dover Foxcroft: 151 E. Main St.
- Ellsworth: 226 High St.
- Falmouth: 33 Depot Road (opens next week)
- Farmington: 317 Main St.
- Ft. Fairfield: 355 Main St.
- Ft. Kent: 84 E. Main St.
- Gardiner: 9 Spring St.
- Gorham: 120 Main St.
- Gray: 62 West Gray Road
- Guilford: 3 Hudson Ave., #147
- Hampden: 65 Western Ave.
- Houlton: 137 North St.
- Kennebunk: 37 Portland Rd.
- Kittery: 15 Shapleigh Rd.
- Lewiston: 430 Sabattus St.
- Lincoln: 2 W. Broadway
- Lisbon Falls: 575 Lisbon St.
- Livermore Falls: 81 Main St.
- Machias: 144 Dublin St.
- Madawaska: 429 Main St.
- Manchester: 943 Western Ave.
- Milo: 35 Park St.
- Naples: 665 Roosevelt Trl.
- Newport: 36 Moosehead Trl.
- Norway: 53 Paris St.
- Oakland: 19 Main St.
- Old Orchard Beach: 15 Saco Ave.
- Pittsfield: 506 Somerset Ave.
- Portland: 616 Forest Avenue (opens next week)
- Presque Isle: 320 Main St.
- Rockland: 28 Park St.
- Rumford: 7 Portland St.
- Saco: 461 Main St.
- Sanford: 868 Main Street
- Scarborough: 233 US Route 1
- Scarborough: 600 U.S. Route 1
- Skowhegan: 225 Madison Ave.
- South Portland: 279 Main Street (opens next week)
- Topsham: 77 Mallett Dr.
- Waterville: 210 Main St.
- Wells: 1036 Post Rd.
- Westbrook: 465 Main St.
- Windham: 741 Roosevelt Trl.
- Winslow: 36 China Road
- Winthrop: 16 Peck Farm Rd.
- Yarmouth: 478 US Route 1
- York: 400 U.S. Route 1
“Walgreens is pleased to further increase access to COVID-19 testing, and to serve as the first retail pharmacy to administer BinaxNOW COVID-19 tests in the country,” Rick Gates, Walgreens senior vice president of pharmacy, Walgreens, said. “The essential role pharmacists and patient care teams play in the health care delivery system has never been more clear. Walgreens has a long history of stepping up to support our customers and communities in times of need, and we’re pleased to be working in collaboration with Maine health officials and stand ready to work with additional states on their efforts to expand access to COVID-19 testing.”
In total, Maine is receiving 400,000 BinaxNOW tests from the U.S. DHHS at no charge. DHHS is separately allocating 100,000 tests through an application process and has already distributed more than 35,000 of those tests to federally qualified health centers, shelters, schools, and other settings. Since demand may exceed the available supply, DHHS says it will prioritize facilities that serve high-risk populations, high-risk settings, and other settings where access to testing is otherwise limited.
While the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test is best used for people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, other types of testing is available in Maine to people who think they need a test, regardless of symptoms and without the need for a referral from a health provider. This testing is available at more than two dozen "swab and send" testing locations that offer molecular testing at no charge under separate agreements with DHHS.
Results from swab and send locations are provided by the State Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory within 48 hours of receipt at the lab (the time from the sample collection to the delivery of the result to the patient may take longer). For more information, visit the Keep Maine Healthy website.
