Dallas-based Kai Medical Laboratory will offer free COVID-19 testing in 500 Texas schools, Steven McAuley, CEO of the lab's parent company Empower Clinics, told Proactive. The lab can guarantee free testing thanks to its recent registration with the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act program.
Texas has been home to one of the worst pandemic surges in the country since the rise of the delta variant, with 43 percent of the state population vaccinated — behind the national rate of 48.8 percent.
Gov. Greg Abbott banned mask and vaccine mandates earlier this year, threatening schools and local governments with a $1,000 fine for disobeying the ban.