Mt. Pleasant teams with Pittsburgh lab in launch of covid-19 community wellness program

When Mt. Pleasant Mayor Jerry Lucia received a call recently from an area native inquiring whether the borough would like to team up with a state-of-the art health care lab as it launches a covid-19 community wellness testing program, he jumped at the chance.

SDxLabs, a Pittsburgh-based diagnostics laboratory, will roll out its covid-19 Community Wellness Program in Mt. Pleasant next week. Mt. Pleasant native Jackie Mullins, national sales director at the lab, called Lucia, who also is fire chief, to see whether the town would like to participate.

“A lot of people think, just because we have the covid-19 vaccine, it’s over. But just look around the country: It’s not. … There’s still concerns about variants popping up,” Lucia said.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that, as of July 3, the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, is the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for 51.7% of all new cases.

“If we can stay on top of it and help keep people healthy, I’m in favor of it,” Lucia said.

The lab’s mobile testing vehicle with SDxLabs staff will be at the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department at 100 S. Church St. from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday to begin the testing program. All members of the community are invited to participate.

The laboratory, based on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, was founded by researchers and technologists who have been driving innovation in health care for over two decades, said David Colaizzi, one of the lab’s founders and its chief executive officer.

He said the laboratory is expanding programs and resources for communities so people can make proactive decisions about their health.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Mayor Lucia and Mt. Pleasant to roll out proactive community testing options and bring pooled testing to their first responders,” Colaizzi said.

He said the goal of the program is to improve access to testing and reduce potential outbreaks.

“While testing has become more and more accessible over the past year, we want to help communities like Mt. Pleasant make sure that they have the infrastructure they need should current conditions change,” Colaizzi said. “There are still concerns about variants, and we’re still seeing cases across the state. Providing communities the assurances they need to fully embrace reopening is incredibly important, especially for populations that have been disproportionately affected by covid-19.”

Lucia said he hopes community members take advantage of the opportunity.

“We want to focus on making sure that our community continually has the resources it needs to stay safe, especially as variants emerge and we transition back to normal,” Lucia said. “While cases have been declining for some time now, there’s plenty to suggest that we aren’t fully through the woods. Rather than undoing months of progress, we’re looking to SDxLabs to help us ensure we can continue to open back up safely.”

Mullins also is looking forward to the launch of the pilot testing program.

“People, regardless whether they’re looking to be tested for travel, work or whatever, are looking for a safe place to be tested, and what is a more inviting place than a community’s own fire station … and to have an opportunity to have it done free of charge, too, is a bonus,” she said.

Those who participate will be asked to provide saliva samples through a tube or nose swab that will be sent to the lab.

More information is available at sdx-labs.com/mt-pleasant-community-program .