OKC Selected For National COVID-19 Pilot Program

Oklahoma City was selected to host a national COVID-19 program. Their goal is to help communities and businesses reopen safely while making testing more available. 

The START Coalition says it is now working with the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation to come up with a plan to tackle the coronavirus and help people get back to their normal lives. 

The coalition is made up of local corporate executives, research experts, and top universities. START said the partners will all share data to create more testing and samples. That way they can design a plan custom fit for Oklahoma. 

The group said it specifically wants to figure out who has COVID-19 but isn’t showing any symptoms. From there the group can figure out how many Oklahomans the virus has infected. 

One of the local leaders in the program, Christian Kanady, says the groups goal is to put the power of prevention in the hands of the people. 

“Government has an important role to play but our founding partners all agree that partnerships across science, business, and technology will catalyze and accelerate the process of making society safe,” said Kanady in a statement. 

The group said it plans to announce details soon about how and when the program will unfold.