The XpresSpa Group and its XpresCheck COVID-testing subsidiary this week announced an expansion of their initial $2 million airport-based bio-surveillance program with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bringing the total contract to $5.6 million.
The COVID-19 bio-surveillance program in launched in September as an 8-week pilot focused on the importation of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in the U.S. on flights originating from India.
“During the Thanksgiving holiday, we worked closely with the CDC to pivot and expand our surveillance program to screen for the new, highly contagious Omicron variant that was identified just days earlier in Africa,” said Ezra Ernst, XpresCheck’s recently appointed CEO. “Together, with our testing partner, Concentric by Ginkgo, we successfully expanded the program to monitor additional flights from around the globe.”
With the recent expansion, the XpresCheck-CDC program now tests passengers entering the U.S. from seven African countries, including those making connections through the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Brazil – countries that have been identified as Level 4 Risk Assessment for COVID-19.
The bio-surveillance program also expanded the number of U.S. airports involved in the program, adding Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) to a group that initially included John F. Kennedy International (JFK), Newark-Liberty International (EWR) and San Francisco International (SFO) airports.
“For the past 3 months, XpresCheck and their testing partner, Concentric by Gingko, demonstrated that a traveler-based SARS-CoV-2 viral genomic surveillance program can help detect emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in the United States,” said Dr. Cindy R. Friedman, chief of CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch. “In fact, following the rapid expansion over the Thanksgiving break, the program detected the first documented U.S. cases of Omicron sub-lineage BA.2 and BA.3.”
The expanded program utilizes the same tests and processes as the pilot. Passengers take a PCR test, which is combined with five to 10 other samples and sent to the lab to determine the presence of COVID-19. If the presence of COVID-19 is detected in the pooled sample, the viral samples will undergo genomic sequencing to identify the presence of any variants, such as the Omicron variant.
In addition to the pooled tests, participating travelers are provided a free take-home PCR test which they are recommended to take within three to five days after their arrival. Both tests help the CDC understand which variants are making their way to the U.S.
“It’s a source of pride for me and all the XpresCheck employees that we are making a real impact in the response to COVID-19,” said Scott Milford, the recently-appointed CEO of XpresSpa Group. “With the expansion, we are one step closer to enabling program near real-time detection of novel COVID-19 variants at our borders.”
