Mobile Health on Vaccine Success: Why We’re Not Done with COVID-19 Testing Yet

Excerpts from Mobile Health CEO Andrew Shulman appearance on SiriusXM Laura Coates Show

While it’s appropriate to celebrate rising COVID-19 vaccination rates, the alarming number of COVID-19 cases means it’s too soon to let up on COVID-19 testing, Mobile Health CEO Andrew Shulman told Sirius XM radio host Laura Coates earlier this month.

“You can still get COVID-19 and transmit the virus even if you’re vaccinated – even though symptoms and severity will be much reduced,” Shulman said during The Laura Coates Show. “Until we reach that herd immunity level of 70 to 90 percent, we need to be extra vigilant and continue testing in order to identify more virulent strains.”

“Testing Is a Public Health Need”

“With the focus on vaccines, how do you convince businesses and schools to embrace COVID-19 testing?” Coates asked.

“By reminding everyone that as we get vaccinated, testing is a public health need. The latest testing will help to identify variants of the virus and prevent spread. Testing needs to be everywhere and embraced – just like masks. Testing education must stress that testing is accessible and affordable.”

Mobile Health has been on the front lines of COVID-19 testing for businesses and schools since the beginning of the pandemic, Shulman explained. The New York-based occupational health provider continually refines its testing to make it more efficient and affordable, and currently conducts about 10,000 COVID-19 tests weekly in the tri-state region.

“Lately, testing within large populations like colleges has shifted to surveillance testing,” he noted. “This approach tests a random sampling, such as a dorm pod, to monitor for increasing or decreasing prevalence of cases.”

Testing to Reopen Schools and Workplaces

The Biden Administration recently allocated $10 billion for COVID-19 testing in schools, with an emphasis on rapid antigen testing, to hasten a return to in-person learning, he said. The CDC advocates screening testing — the testing of individuals with no symptoms – to speed reopening of schools and workplaces.

Mobile Health also partners with SL Green, New York City’s largest commercial property owner, to provide COVID-19 testing to returning office workers.

“The end of testing is in sight, but we still have a lot to do,” Shulman concluded.

The Laura Coates Show is part of Sirius XM’s POTUS programming – Politics of the United States — that features analysis from Coates, an attorney, and other hosts.