ELMWOOD PARK, N.J.,
July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- BioReference Laboratories, Inc., an OPKO Health company
(NASDAQ: OPK), today announced the results of COVID-19 molecular
PCR and antibody tests for nursing home and live-in facility
employees.
On May 10, New York State mandated that all personnel at
nursing home and adult care facilities were to be tested for active
COVID-19 infection using PCR-based molecular testing, twice per
week. The personnel tested included all employees pursuant to a
plan developed by the facility and filed with the Department of
Health. At the start of the program, many nursing homes asked that
employees be tested for antibodies at the same time. The majority
of the nearly 3,500 antibody tests were performed within the first
two weeks of May. With 29% of employees testing positive for
antibodies, an extrapolated estimate for the approximately 140,000
total nursing home staff in New York
State suggests as many as 41,760 nursing home staff members
in New York State could have had
COVID-19 prior to early May.
Test result summary:
Overall 29.0% of nursing home employees tested positive for
antibodies
REGION
|
TEST
RESULTS
|
POSITIVE
|
%
POSITIVE
|
NYC
|
376
|
207
|
55.1%
|
WESTCHESTER/ROCKLAND
|
450
|
167
|
37.1%
|
LONG
ISLAND
|
1068
|
378
|
35.4%
|
UPSTATE
|
1594
|
258
|
16.2%
|
STATEWIDE
|
3488
|
1010
|
29.0%
|
Overall 2.9% of employees tested positive for active infection
(positive PCR)
REGION
|
TEST
RESULTS
|
POSITIVE
|
%
POSITIVE
|
NYC
|
73439
|
3384
|
4.60%
|
WESTCHESTER/ROCKLAND
|
29210
|
901
|
3.10%
|
LONG
ISLAND
|
53371
|
638
|
1.20%
|
UPSTATE
|
65759
|
1444
|
2.20%
|
STATEWIDE
|
221779
|
6367
|
2.9%
|
"Of the 3,500 nursing home staff that we tested, 29% were
positive for antibodies. The very high positivity rate of
antibodies in this employee group by early May would suggest that a
significant number of nursing home employees had active COVID-19
disease early on in the outbreak. Although overall positivity rate
for active infection is now low, over 6,000 employees were
identified with active virus when we tested in May and June. By
identifying these individuals, the mandatory testing program most
likely prevented the further spread of the virus to thousands of
vulnerable nursing home residents. Although it is impossible to
calculate, many deaths had to have been prevented," said
Jon R. Cohen, M.D., Executive
Chairman of BioReference Laboratories. "Throughout this unrelenting
health crisis, BioReference has made it a priority to provide
testing to those at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection, and we
are proud of our efforts to help combat the spread of this
virus."
For more information,
visit https://www.bioreference.com/coronavirus.
About BioReference Laboratories, Inc.
BioReference
provides comprehensive testing to physicians, clinics, hospitals,
employers, government units, correctional institutions and medical
groups. BioReference has been working expeditiously to
develop and offer test services that will yield high quality and
accurate results, including a molecular test for helping with
COVID-19 diagnosis and an antibody test to help indicate possible
COVID-19 exposure. The company is in network with the five largest
health plans in the United States,
operates a network of 11 laboratory locations, and is backed by a
medical staff of more than 120 M.D.,
Ph.D. and other professional level clinicians and scientists.
With a leading position in the areas of genetics, women's health,
maternal fetal medicine, oncology and urology, BioReference and its
specialty laboratories, GenPath and GeneDx, are advancing the
course of modern medicine. For more information,
visit www.bioreference.com.
About OPKO Health, Inc.
OPKO is a multinational
biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish
industry-leading positions in large, rapidly growing markets by
leveraging its discovery, development, and commercialization
expertise and novel and proprietary technologies. For more
information, visit www.opko.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as
that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be identified by words
such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may,"
"anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and
other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding
BioReference's antibody screening test, the availability of the
test and the role and value of the information provided and its
impact on decisions relative to the safety of employees and
customers, as well as other non-historical statements about our
expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding our business,
technologies and products, financial condition, strategies or
prospects. Many factors could cause our actual activities or
results to differ materially from the activities and results
anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include
those described in the OPKO Health, Inc. Annual Reports on Form
10-K filed and to be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and in its other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements may
also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive
product development, product availability, federal and state
regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new
products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise,
patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date the statements were made, and we do not
undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We
intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the
safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
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SOURCE BioReference Laboratories, Inc.