Lilly expanding drive-thru coronavirus testing
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) says it is expanding its drive-through testing for the virus that causes COVID-19. The testing, which was previously given to healthcare workers and first responders, will now be available to two additional higher-risk groups.
The company says workers in businesses included on the state’s list of essential operations who have regular contact with the public as part of their job will be eligible for testing. The individuals will need a COVID-19 testing order from a physician whether they are showing symptoms or not.
This group, according to Lilly, includes grocery store workers, food preparation and delivery workers, those delivering social services directly to the public, and elder-care and daycare workers, among others.
“The goal of this expanded testing is to focus on these people who come into extensive contact with the public in order to decrease community transmission,” Lilly said in a news release.
The second new group includes people showing symptoms of COVID-19 who are 65 or order, as well as those under 65 with symptoms who have a serious underlying illness, including chronic lung disease, a serious heart condition, immunocompromised patients, and those with uncontrolled serious medical conditions such as diabetes, liver disease and renal failure.
The company says everyone seeking a test would need an order for COVID-19 testing from a physician and those under 65 should have their physician detail the underlying condition or conditions on the order.
“Lilly is confronting this pandemic with everything we can – and here in our home community, that includes accelerating testing to help decrease community transmission,” said Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer for Lilly and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. “We hope that expanding testing in these populations will make a meaningful difference in this fight – for both individuals and health care providers as they battle this virus on the front lines.”
Lilly began the drive-through testing for healthcare workers on March 23 and was expanded for first responders shortly thereafter. The company says, to date, nearly 6,000 people have been tested, about half of which came from the drive-through testing.
You can find more information of the testing expansion by clicking here.