Vaccine provider to add outreach
UPPER MERION » A Montgomery County company that offers drivethrough COVID-19 testing and vaccinations continues to evolve — taking its vaccinations to those that need them.
15toKnow began operations in October 2020 to respond to the need for rapid COVID-19 testing — providing patients with results within 15 minutes at locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Since opening, the company has performed 300,000 COVID tests.
In March, the company relocated its headquarters to a bigger space — the site of the former Toys R Us near the King of Prussia Mall, 250 Mall Blvd. in Upper Merion — adding drive-through COVID vaccinations to its offerings.
Since then, the company has administered about 20,000 first and second doses of the COVID vaccine.
Over the past couple of weeks, 15toKnow launched a Community Outreach Program to help expand local efforts to “put shots in arms.”
According to Mike Dershowitz, 15toKnow CEO and managing director, the company started to see “some hesitancy” about the vaccines. “So we started what we call our Community Outreach team to go to areas of the community and say, ‘hey, we can come to a vaccination event, we can come to you,’” he said. The company has a team of three employees whose job it is to make calls to let people know about the availability and to field inbound requests.
So far, 15toKnow has vaccinated more than 700 people through its Community Outreach team at companies like ShopRite, Vimco Inc., Tech Tubes Inc., FedEx and the Valley Forge Casino, and has plans to expand to colleges and universities as well as staff at hospitality venues according to the company.
Dershowitz added that the number of vaccinations at the Upper Merion site vary from day to day, although there is still a lot of demand from the community.
“It’s not maxing the schedule like it was in the beginning of April. Some days are still at the max, but it goes in waves,” he said.
Dershowitz said 15toKnow began vaccinating children in the 12-15 age group on Thursday, May 13, adding that as soon as the word began to spread that children in that age range could get the Pfizer vaccine, parents began calling to make appointments. He expects demand for vaccinations will spike over the next few weeks before leveling off.
Dershowitz urges parents looking for vaccination appointments for their children to call the 15toKnow customer service number at 1-800-741-0457.
COVID testing
15toKnow continues to offer rapid COVID testing. Patients make an appointment, drive up, self-administer the test then drive away — receiving a text with results within 15 minutes.
Testing is down, according to Dershowitz, following the COVID curves nationally.
“Testing volume in May will be 50% of April. Then we expect June to be 70% of what May will be,” he said.
As a result, 15toKnow has been “slimming down,” and closing sites. The company is currently operating six testing sites in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey.
What’s next?
Dershowitz said he expects COVID testing and vaccinations will continue through the summer.
As COVID cases continue to drop and the number of people being vaccinated reaches a critical mass, Dershowitz said 15toKnow will continue to evolve to meet the community’s need.
The company has launched an antibody test that will tell people whether they have COVID antibodies or vaccine antibodies in their blood to help “confirm that they are protected,” Dershowitz said.
Like the COVID test, people make an appointment, drivethrough, have the test administered and know results in 15 minutes. The company planned to begin making the test available on Thursday, with appointments available through the customer service number.
By the end of May, Dershowitz said the company will launch ecommerce operations from its Upper Merion headquarters, selling and shipping tests to homes and businesses.
One of the tests the company will be selling can be used to test people at gatherings, including children under the age of 12. Another test can be used before traveling and tossed into a suitcase to take with you, Dershowitz said.
He added that 15toKnow’s ecommerce operations will be different than other companies.
“People will be able to get a person on video to moderate the test,” he said, adding that he expects the service will be added after about a month.
“I think there will be a demand for this idea of ‘I want to talk to someone — I have questions.’ That person won’t be a doctor, but will be trained by our doctors. They will be able to watch you do the test to make sure you do it right,” he said.
Dershowitz wouldn’t provide specifics on the future of the company, but said he views 15toKnow as a COVID mitigation company — hinting that there would be more details in the fall.
For information about COVID testing, vaccinations and other products visit https://15toknow. com/. To make an appointment for a vaccination for a 12- to 15year old or for an antibody test call 1-800-741-0457.