LabCorp CEO says company can process 200,000 tests per day
Adam Schechter says his company is in "good position going into this flu season."
President, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, Labcorp
Search every verified Adam Schechter interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote β each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In an October 2020 interview, Labcorp CEO Adam Schechter discussed the company's COVID-19 testing capacity and preparations for the flu season. Schechter stated that Labcorp had increased its testing capacity from 2,000-3,000 tests per day in March to over 200,000 tests per day, and that the company was continuing to expand by purchasing additional machines and reagents. He noted that Labcorp was receiving about 100,000 samples per day on average and that its labs operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Schechter also described three types of COVID-19 testsβPCR, antigen, and antibodyβand said that while PCR is considered the gold standard, antigen tests are useful for surveillance despite being less accurate. Schechter addressed concerns about testing turnaround times, stating that while results typically take about 24 hours, he disagreed with the view that tests become useless after two days, arguing that a three-day result could still help individuals decide whether to return to work. He encouraged the public to get flu vaccinations, practice social distancing, wear masks, and maintain good hygiene, even after receiving a negative test result. Schechter also noted that Labcorp had launched a combined test for flu, RSV, and COVID-19 using a single nasal swab.
“LabCorp has built capacity since March of last year, starting from scratch to now be able to do over two hundred thousand tests per day, which demonstrates significant investment in testing infrastructure during the pandemic.”
“We are doing everything we can to turn around those results as fast as possible, with over 65,000 employees working day and night, and we are buying every machine and reagent we can to prepare for the fall flu season.”
“The turnaround time for results, even if it takes three days, can still be useful for individuals feeling better and deciding whether to go back to work, which is better than unnecessary quarantine.”
“We are building capacity every single day, currently at 200,000 tests a day, and we will not stop; we are buying every machine and reagent we can to prepare for the fall flu season.”
Adam Schechter says his company is in "good position going into this flu season."
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