Yosemite & Precision Pathology Groups Now Offer COVID-19 Testing
(Modesto, CA | May 29, 2020) – Yosemite Pathology | Precision, a pathology physician group with an advanced anatomic pathology laboratory that is CLIA certified and fully accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) is now offering COVID-19 testing for their patients and partners.
Yosemite|Precision’s test, known technically as “Aptima SARS-CoV-2 Assay” currently holds an RUO status and will be submitted for EUA status in time for a 5/15/2020 approval. This test is designed to target Coronavirus and is manufactured by Hologic Diagnostics.
Yosemite|Precision has the capacity to process more than 750 tests every 16 hours utilizing the best-in-class instrumentation employing highly sensitive and reliable chemistries from world leaders in diagnostic assay development. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have worked to provide Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) status to many potentially life-saving diagnostic products during this global public health emergency. In conjunction with the FDA and CDC’s guidance, the COVID-19 assay in use at Yosemite|Precision is categorized as a EUA assay by the FDA.
In addition, this COVID-19 testing employs qualitative multiplexing chemistries in an automated platform for the simultaneous detection and identification of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in nasopharyngeal (NP) swab specimens collected from patients. This testing may be used to determine if patients with symptoms are infected with the virus and if patients showing no symptoms are carriers of the virus. The test requires a throat or nasal swab and has a 24-hour turnaround time.
About Coronavirus (COVID-19):
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory disease caused by a viral infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus, which has infected over 4 million people and caused deaths of approximately 300,000 people worldwide, has rapidly escalated to pandemic status since it first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads very quickly, and a subset of severely infected individuals require hospitalization. As a disease, COVID-19 shows considerable symptomatic variation. Individuals may have no symptoms at all, while others may present with a mild cough and fever. Still, others may experience severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, specifically in patients with pre-existing conditions such as respiratory distress, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
About Yosemite & Precision Pathology Medical Group:
Yosemite Pathology Medical Group is a pathology physician group with Board Certified pathologists who service hospitals and outpatient practices with a broad range of specialties in both anatomic and clinical pathology, supplemented by targeted subspecialty training. These comprehensive specialties enable the delivery of solutions that answer the needs of their clients, allowing their physicians and hospital partners to advance patient care and health management in the communities they serve.
The foundation for Yosemite Pathology was formed in 1948 by a single UCSF trained pathologist, Dr. Jeanne Miller, committed to providing pathology and laboratory services to Central California. In a time of burgeoning need and at the dawn of scientific advancement in the field, she blazed the trail for their growing practice. In the last decade, they have greatly expanded the range and breadth of their services in concert with Precision Pathology, becoming the premier provider of anatomic pathology services in the Western United States, led by their expanded presence in Northern California.