DoorDash will let you order at-home COVID-19 testing kits delivered to your door

DoorDash has partnered with two US-based digital health companies, Vault Health and Everlywell, to help distribute at-home COVID-19 test kits across the country, the company announced on Monday. The partnerships will allow DoorDash customers to order the testing kits directly from the company’s app in 12 markets or, conversely, to order the kits from Vault Health’s website in 20 markets with same-day delivery from DoorDash.

Both kits contain polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which is a molecular test and considered the most accurate of the testing varieties on the market. Both kits have also received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for at-home testing. The Everlywell testing kit ($109) is a self-administered nasal swab that can be done unsupervised, while the Vault Health kit ($119) is a saliva test that involves supervision from a staffer over Zoom. Both companies promise to return results within 24 to 48 hours.

Image: DoorDash

The markets supported by the DoorDash app include Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix, with more cities to be added soon, the company says. Vault Health’s direct online order option will be supported in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego, among other markets.

The initiative is part of DoorDash’s DashMart convenience store platform, a new type of virtual marketplace the company launched last summer as the pandemic was in full swing. DashMarts act similar to a CVS or 7-Eleven but they’re available at all hours of the day from the DoorDash app for ordering convenience store items, light food and groceries, and other products you’d typically find at a corner store or pharmacy. The stores also source from a variety of different vendors, so there’s just not one list of limited inventory to choose from. In some cases, DoorDash even sources local restaurants’ products to give DashMart the feel of a boutique store.

Now, in addition to buying supplies, food, and other items, you’ll also be able to start buying COVID-19 testing kits in what DoorDash is positioning as a push into health products. “Amidst the pandemic, one of our priorities has been to make health and wellness essentials more accessible for customers, with the goal of helping businesses leverage our last-mile logistics infrastructure to provide more convenient and timely access to their health supplies,” Anna Katherine Barnett-Hart, director of new verticals at DoorDash, said in a statement.