Ginkgo Bioworks, CDC, Xwell expand Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program

Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and XpresCheck by XWELL (XWEL) announced they are expanding the CDC’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to new collection locations at US international airports in Miami and Chicago. Additional program funding and expanded program scope, which will double the CDC’s current investment in the TGS program, will be used to substantially increase the volume of nasal and wastewater samples collected, tested, and sequenced using a custom multipathogen panel. This expanded funding will also bring the number of airports in the program to a total of nine active sites: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York (JFK), Washington Dulles, Newark, Boston, Seattle, Miami, and Chicago.