Affinity Empowering Enrolls First School in Vermont for No-Cost COVID-19 Tests Through Operation Expanded Testing

ALEXANDRIA, Va. and SHELBURNE, Vt., Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinity Empowering, Inc., a leading provider of the most sophisticated and secure occupational, behavioral, and direct-to-consumer health services, today announced that the Lake Champlain Waldorf School (LCWS) has been enrolled in Operation Expanded Testing (OET) and has been conducting no-cost weekly COVID-19 testing for its students and faculty since early September. LCWS is the first school in the state of Vermont to enroll in OET.

Through OET, LCWS is providing weekly testing for its 185 students and all faculty and staff as one of many COVID-19 safety measures, with the goal of maintaining in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year.  LCWS is a Pre-K through 12 private school that provides a comprehensive, cultural education to encourage students to become creative, balanced, and socially responsible adults who love to learn.

"We know how important it is to keep our students learning in person for their ability to access the curriculum as well as their social emotional learning. Along with upgrading our ventilation system and moving some classes outdoors, PCR testing has been one of our biggest mitigation strategies at the school," said Emily Bayer-Pacht, Vice President of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Health and Safety Committee at LCWS. "We made the decision to require all students ages five and up and all faculty and staff to participate in the PCR testing, so when we get a negative school-wide test, it really gives us peace of mind to know our community is doing what we can to stay safe."

"We commend LCWS for enrolling into Operation Expanded Testing and setting an example for COVID-19 safety in the state of Vermont. Surveillance COVID-19 testing, especially tests conducted with the gold standard PCR method of detection, is such an important measure to help reduce outbreak risk, keep kids in school, and maintain peace of mind in the community," said Anne Haslerud, Vice President of Recruitment and Enrollment at Affinity Empowering. "Testing through OET is convenient, highly accurate, has a short turnaround time for results, and is a more comfortable experience than other COVID-19 tests – all great reasons for an organization to enroll."

Media Invitation 

Media representatives are invited to LCWS on Wednesday, September 29 between 10-11 a.m. to cover the first school in Vermont to enroll into OET, the federal COVID-19 testing program. Testing will occur for all students, staff, and faculty.

Media representatives may enter the school at 359 Turtle Lane, Shelburne, VT 05482. LCWS faculty and students being tested for COVID-19 under OET will be available for interviews and news footage.

Advantages of Operation Expanded Testing

Affinity Empowering offers the OET program on behalf of Eurofins Clinical. Affinity and Eurofins use PCR testing, the gold standard for accurate detection of COVID-19. The PCR test used in OET has 100% sensitivity and specificity, meaning that there are no false positives or false negatives. It also has the lowest limit of detection for any authorized COVID-19 test, enabling detection of COVID-19 at its earliest stages when viral load is low.

While testing, individuals submit two samples - collected from the tip of the nose for minimal invasiveness. One sample from each individual is pooled together to expedite sample analysis. If a pool shows a positive result, the individual secondary samples from that pool are immediately analyzed. This scheme avoids the need for sample recollection and lowers the overall turnaround time for results. Through its proprietary Assure integrated technology platform, Affinity delivers COVID-19 test results with an average turnaround time of 24 hours.

About Operation Expanded Testing 

Operation Expanded Testing (OET) is a federally funded program to provide no-cost, "click and go" COVID-19 surveillance testing to congregate settings, including K-12 schools, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and select, nonprofit community centers through July 2022. COVID-19 surveillance testing is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the safe reopening of schools.

Affinity and Eurofins are coordinating OET program implementation to these institutions in 26 Northeastern and Southern states and additional territories, in agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Unlike other federal programs to fund COVID-19 testing, OET has no upfront costs nor paperwork. Interested eligible parties can simply visit Affinity's OET website and click the "Enroll Today" button and provide some basic information. Affinity will then provide the resources and training necessary to establish a COVID-19 testing program at your institution. For questions or additional information, visit the website or contact Affinity's 24/7 customer service staff directly (email: [email protected], phone: 1-844-631-0469). 

About Affinity Empowering 

Affinity Empowering is a leading occupational health, population, and disease management life sciences organization that specializes in providing technology-based solutions and support for overall health and wellness endeavors. In addition to providing occupational health, mental health, and cutting edge, wrap around substance use support, the company also has become a major provider of COVID-19 testing. Its Return to Normalcy program provides COVID-19 consultation, support, and conducts thousands of onsite and at home testing options to safely screen, monitor, and test populations. It currently supports numerous business partners in various fields, ranging from government contracts, universities, top Fortune 100 companies, and major film and television production companies. 

For more information, please visit https://www.affinitytesting.com

Media Contacts

Lindsay Francescutti
Lake Champlain Waldorf School
(802) 985-2827 x271
[email protected]

David Melamed
Russo Partners, LLC 
(212) 845-4225
[email protected]

SOURCE Affinity Empowering, Inc.