In this episode of The Arizona Pulse Podcast, we sit down with Tom Leggett from Sonora Quest Laboratories to discuss the companies’ COVID-19 pooled testing strategy taking place in schools across Arizona. Utilizing the companies’ innovative method of pooled COVID-19 testing, schools in our state are protecting students and keeping them in school.
Sonora Quest Laboratories and Concentric by Ginkgo have teamed up to provide onsite PCR pooled testing to all Arizona schools for free thanks to federal funding distributed through the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). As COVID-19 rates for children continue to rise, families are looking for additional testing options. Encouraging families to participate in pooled COVID-19 testing through their schools is an easy way to help families and school decision-makers get the answers they need to keep students safe and schools open.
About Sonora Quest Laboratories
Sonora Quest Laboratories, a joint venture between Banner Health and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), is part of the nation’s largest integrated laboratory system with approximately 3,500 employees serving more than 28,000 patients every day throughout Arizona. Sonora Quest Laboratories is the market share leader in clinical laboratory testing in Arizona, performing more than 85 million diagnostic tests per year. Sonora Quest Laboratories offers a local comprehensive test menu which encompasses routine, molecular, prescription drug monitoring, genetic/genomic, women’s health and pathology testing services. My Lab ReQuest provides consumers direct access to a diverse range of affordable screening tests that can be ordered online at SonoraQuest.com or in any of Sonora Quest’s 75 patient service centers across Arizona. Ninety-five percent of all testing is performed at the primary testing facilities located in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott and Yuma. Sonora Quest Laboratories is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is the gold standard in laboratory accreditation, helping laboratories to maintain accuracy of test results and ensure accurate patient diagnosis. This accreditation ensures the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients as CAP inspectors examine laboratory staff. For more information, visit www.sonoraquest.com.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo is building a platform to enable customers to program cells as easily as we can program computers. The company’s platform is enabling biotechnology applications across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo has also actively supported a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including K-12 pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing optimization and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit WWW.GINKGOBIOWORKS.COM.
