Fulgent Genetics 'pleased' to partner with Houston Health Department for COVID-19 testing in area schools

The Houston Health Department, along with Fulgent Genetics, have joined forces to offer on-campus COVID-19 testing.

Brandon Perthuis, chief commercial officer of Fulgent Genetics, said the partnership would mitigate the spread of COVID-19 throughout city schools.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the Houston Health Department and Houston-area public schools on their COVID-19 testing program for the school year,” Perthuis said. “With COVID-19 cases on the rise across the country, we hope to help protect students and faculty from the spread of the virus, particularly as vaccination rates remain low with school-age children. Our ability to deliver high-quality RT-PCR testing with differentiated service and rapid turnaround time remains a key reason why schools, hospitals and municipalities choose Fulgent as a trusted partner for COVID-19 testing."

With parents’ permission, Fulgent will provide RT-PCR testing to students as per the agreement. A process in which students are being statistically picked weekly across school districts in the Houston-region public school system will continue throughout the current school year.

“We know students learn best in the classroom, and keeping schools open for safe in-person learning is a priority,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “I urge parents to permit their children to participate in the testing program. Our goal is to keep campus staff, students and families healthy while preventing a need to shut down schools because of a COVID-19 outbreak.”

Fulgent will accept student samples at its Houston laboratory on a daily basis, with results to be reported before the start of the next school day.

“Thanks to the Houston Health Department we are continuing to expand our tool kit of protection that is keeping our students and staff safe from the deadliest virus of our lifetime,” Houston Independent School District Superintendent Millard House II said. “First, we mandated masks in our schools, and now the City of Houston is providing testing that can catch COVID-19 before it spreads through our schools. This partnership with the City of Houston will save lives.”

The city also has a similar COVID-19 testing partnership with the Aldine Independent School District.