Amazon, CVS Health and Thermo Fisher Scientific have come together to form a coalition promoting employer-based COVID-19 testing as part of a national strategy to combat the pandemic.
Called the Workplace Employers Alliance for COVID-19 Testing, or WE ACT, the coalition aims to advance a national testing strategy that includes clear guidance for implementing testing programs and results reporting and making sure employers have access to high-quality, FDA-authorized tests.
"We are coming together to make sure that our essential employees are able to come to work and be tested in an easy and efficient way," said Michael Meehan, senior adviser to WE ACT. "Widespread and convenient testing, especially for those who are asymptomatic, is critical for controlling the pandemic, keeping the U.S. economy open and protecting America’s workforce."
WE ACT cited a survey from Northeastern, Northwestern, Harvard and Rutgers universities that found that COVID-19 tests are still too slow to support broad contact tracing and added that a lack of speedy COVID-19 testing has disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic Americans.
Read the full news release here.