SUNY Upstate, Albany Airport partner on COVID-19 saliva tests
State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras announced with Upstate Medical President Dr. Mantosh Dewan, andAlbany International Airport CEO Philip Calderone a COVID-19 partnership to test airport employees and travelers.
SUNY will begin voluntary testing of the airport’s employees at no cost on a regular basis beginning on Dec.11, subject to final airport board approval. Testing for passengers will be available to purchase at approximately $30 at the end of this month to allow travelers to test in advance of their flights or just after their return.
Arriving passengers will have the option to purchase a take home kit with instructions to test themselves after day four of their flight and they would be able to mail the test to Upstate Medical for analysis. The take home kit is about $60, which is still considerably lower than other diagnostic tests that average between $100-$150.
“SUNY has led the way in developing solutions to combatting COVID-19 from producing face shields to providing the healthcare workforce to Upstate Medical University’s state of the art testing approved by the FDA,” Malatras said.
“It demonstrates the power of public higher education to be a critical resource to tackle the challenges we face. My thanks to Upstate Medical President Dewan and his team’s ongoing efforts to combat this virus through testing analysis, vaccine research, and providing healthcare during this monumental time, as well as CEO Calderone’s collaboration to expand our reach to help the employees who handle the operations and ensure the safety of their travelers. We’re in this together,” Malatras explained.
“SUNY Upstate Medical University is pleased to do its part in keeping New York State safe, especially during this unsettling spike in COVID cases. Our groundbreaking work on largescale, cost- effective, and accurate COVID testing, developed on our Syracuse campus with our Start Up New York business Quadrant Biosciences, has proven to be a defense in keeping COVID at bay. We are grateful to partner with SUNY Chancellor Malatras and the entire SUNY system in bringing the excellence of academic medicine to the benefit of institutions across the state,” Upstate Medical President Dewan remarked.
“We’re excited to extend the success of our saliva-based COVID-19 testing protocol beyond the SUNY schools to better serve the great people of New York State. Without question, Albany International Airport is on the leading edge of organizations intent on improving the health and safety of their employees and the community of air travelers they serve—we’re proud to be part of the solution,” CEO of Quadrant Biosciences Rich Uhlig noted.
“We know how important testing is, which is why I worked with partners to bring walk-up testing to underserved neighborhoods and to the Times Union Center, all while working with partners at local colleges to expand student testing. Increased testing means we are better able to pinpoint where the virus is spreading and to identify and notify others who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive. By bringing this to airport employees, we are testing people on the front lines who are interacting with travelers and again, working diligently to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy stated.
“Albany International Airport continues to advance its Smart Airport approach to become the first airport in New York State to offer saliva diagnostic testing. COVID-19 testing is an essential step to insure the health and safety of our workforce and the traveling public and we are grateful to Governor Andrew Cuomo, State University Chancellor Jim Malatras, SUNY Upstate President Mantosh Dewan and Richard Uhlig, CEO of Quadrant Biosciences for sharing their COVID-19 testing knowledge and experience,” Albany International Airport CEO Philip Calderone commented.
“In containing the coronavirus, Governor Cuomo has made New York State a global leader in testing, which from Day One has been a key strategy in saving lives and controlling viral spread. Through the collaboration we have between SUNY, Upstate Medical, and Albany International Airport, we can provide tests to the employees and travelers of this airport, which will help us pinpoint any potential cases more quickly, and limit the number of cases coming into the state through air travel,” New York State Department of Financial Services Deputy Superintendent and Special Counsel Gareth Rhodes, who is on Governor Cuomo’s COVID19 Response Task Force, added.
Albany International Airport will complete construction of a testing site this week and staff the facility to provide tests to employees. Tests will be handed out and employees may administer it themselves on site, and will be conducted within a structure that allows for social distancing. Tests will be collected and sent to Upstate Medical for analysis.
The expansion is possible by SUNY Upstate’s innovative pooled surveillance testing protocols with a capacity of 200,000 tests per week.
“It demonstrates the power of public higher education to be a critical resource to tackle the challenges we face.” — State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras