XpresSpa recevies approval for $2M program with CDC for biosurveillance tracking 08:34 XSPA XpresSpa Group announced that its XpresCheck subsidiary has been authorized to proceed with a $2M dollar, 8-week pilot program with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, through its XpresCheck COVID-19 testing company. Under the 8-week pilot program, conducted in collaboration with Concentric by Ginkgo, XpresCheck will conduct biosurveillance monitoring, initially from India, at three major U.S. airports operating XpresCheck COVID-19 testing facilities, which will be aimed at identifying existing and new SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the highly contagious Delta variant and other new variants surfacing in the U.S. "For the past year, XpresCheck has played a significant role in safeguarding airports and air travel by conducting convenient, on-site COVID-19 testing for travelers, airline and airport employees. We are excited to be working with the CDC on this pilot program and believe the data collected will prove invaluable in understanding the movement of current variants in airports, and tracking future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19," said Doug Satzman, chief executive officer of XpresSpa Group. "The program is being designed to help track the influx of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and create a mechanism to be deployed against infectious diseases going forward. Following the launch of this CDC-backed biosurveillance program, XpresCheck aims to further expand the relationship with the CDC and extend the program into all U.S. major international airports, with flights arriving from any high-risk countries in the near future." Passengers will be offered a free PCR test, which will be combined with 5-10 other samples and sent to a lab network to determine the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If the presence of the virus is detected in the pooled sample, the pathogens in those samples will be genomically sequenced to identify the presence of any new variants, such as the Delta variant. XpresCheck's collaboration with Concentric by Ginkgo will feature two testing modalities for passengers that enter the U.S. every week aboard flights from India. The first modality will consist of pooled testing of passengers arriving on direct flights from India. The second phase of the program consists of take-home PCR tests that some participating travelers may pick up at the airport and take within 3-5 days after their arrival and mailed to the designated lab. Both tests will help the CDC understand which variants are making their way to the U.S.
