XWELL has extended its collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) for their Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program that has been in place since 2021.
The new contract for approximately $16 million will extend the work between the CDC, XpresCheck and Concentric by Ginkgo Bioworks for another year, expanding bio-surveillance capabilities across major U.S. airports.
The program has conducted surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 to deliver timely public health insights into rare and emerging COVID-19 variants. In 2022, the program expanded to include tracking of influenza A and B viruses as well.
The joint biosecurity, the nation’s first large-scale, sustained travel biosecurity platform, currently operates in six airports in the U.S.: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK); Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR); San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
International travelers arriving at these airports from select countries can enroll on a voluntary basis to provide samples to be checked for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. “Through the renewed investment in this initiative, we and our partners are continuing to play an important role in U.S. biosecurity through its two major goals; early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens and by filling the gaps in global bio-surveillance,” stated Ezra Ernst, CEO of XWELL division XpresCheck. “We have learned that people are eager to protect themselves, their communities and their global neighbors, and TGS facilitates this.”
