The NYC Test & Treat Corps announced today that its first-in-the-nation mobile “Test to Treat” program will double in size over the next three weeks.
Expanding to 75 mobile units all of which will provide rapid antigen testing, PCR testing and on-site treatment by the end of October. To date, the mobile Test to Treat Program has administered approximately 60,000 tests and immediately connected nearly 1,700 patients to life-saving treatment. The program has established testing sites in over 100 unique locations across New York City, performing over 60% of tests in TRIE neighborhoods the City’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity (TRIE) determined were hardest hit by the pandemic. In addition, as of October 1, New Yorkers may present proof of a positive test — including at-home test results and test results from any external testing provider — at all mobile Test to Treat units to be evaluated for and prescribed COVID treatments on site.
“New York City has made it easier than ever to get treated for COVID-19, and with the expansion of our groundbreaking mobile Test to Treat program to all of the city’s mobile testing fleet, getting connected to lifesaving treatment if you test positive has never been more accessible,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “By getting lifesaving medications into the hands of New Yorkers minutes after they test positive, we are once again leading the nation to quickly deliver accessible care to those who need it. This expansion will save lives today and prepares us for future waves of this pandemic, keeping more New Yorkers safe and healthy.”
“The expansion of the NYC Test & Treat Corps’ mobile Test to Treat units is great leadership in action,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. “The work of the Corps builds on our shared commitment to reducing death and disability from COVID-19. The mobile Test to Treat model has saved so many lives by making sure care comes to patients where they are, allowing for early diagnosis and easy access to life saving treatments.”“New Yorkers all across the city have been carrying on over the last couple years — going to their workplaces, taking their kids to the park or to school, meeting family and friends and living their lives,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We must meet people where they are, so that they can keep doing what they do to make our city so vibrant. That’s why additional mobile Test to Treat units are so important. We are out where people live, learn, work and play to help keep them safe and healthy. Thankyou to Test & Treat and to all our partners for continuing to ebb and flow with the virus.”
“Our one-stop-shop mobile Test to Treat program is a lifesaving tool that we didn’t have early on in the pandemic. Instantly connecting New Yorkers to treatment — especially those in our most impacted communities — has helped keep our city safe and will continue to keep us prepared,” said Dr. Ted Long, Executive Director of the NYC Test & Treat Corps and Senior Vice President, Ambulatory Care and Population Health, NYC Health + Hospitals. “Heading into the fall and winter, we are doubling our mobile Test to Treat fleet to make it easier to get COVID-19 treatment than ever before. Come to one of our mobile units if you have symptoms and potentially walk away with treatment a matter of minutes later — it could save your life.”
“Testing is a critical pathway to treatment, which, in turn, is an important defense against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Our City’s mobile healthcare infrastructure through Test & Treat is making this process more accessible and convenient and equitable, and offers an innovative and vital service to New Yorkers. Its expansion makes all the sense in the world.”
“The mobile Test to Treat program’s unique ability to provide testing with instant, on-site connections to treatment has brought life-saving care to thousands of New Yorkers in the city’s most under resourced communities,” said Sarah Joseph Kurien, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Office of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals. “In New York City, providing equitable access to treatment is our north star and we know that this effort will be critically important heading into the fall and winter seasons when COVID transmission tends to accelerate. Expanding the mobile Test to Treat program will make the city prepared for whatever lies ahead and assure New Yorkers that the resources they need are near at hand or a phone call away.”
“Mobile Test to Treat units have brought immediate access to testing and treatment to the city’s most impacted communities, reaching New Yorkers no matter where they live, their insurance status or their ability to pay,” said Nixxi Chen, Helena Keown and Ruth Santana, Senior Managers of the NYC Test & Treat Corps mobile testing program. “As our fleet expands to 75 mobile units, we will continue to prioritize outreach to New Yorkers most in need. We are proud to support our fellow New Yorkers and grateful to our heroic healthcare workers who provide compassionate, life-saving care on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.”
By the end of October, New Yorkers who test positive for COVID-19 using a rapid antigen test at all 75 mobile Test to Treat units will be offered the opportunity to engage with an onsite clinician and, if eligible, walk away with free Paxlovid anti-viral medication provided onboard the mobile unit. The mobile Test to Treat fleet is bolstered by seven units operated by the Street Health Outreach + Wellness (SHOW) program, a mobile health initiative also providing direct connections to treatment with an emphasis on outreach to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and those historically disconnected from care.
All mobile Test to Treat units now offer PCR testing. New Yorkers should receive their PCR test results within 24 to 48 hours and can present proof of positive PCR test results at any mobile Test to Treat unit to be connected to treatment.
As of October 1, New Yorkers may present proof of a positive test — including at-home test results, PCR test results and test results from any external testing provider — at all mobile Test to Treat units to be evaluated for and prescribed COVID treatments on site. All external test results, PCR test results and at-home test results presented at mobile Test to Treat units must be taken within the past 5 days.
Since the mobile Test to Treat program’s launch in late June, mobile Test to Treat staff have administered approximately 60,000 tests to New Yorkers for COVID-19. Of those New Yorkers tested, over 8,700 tested positive, 2,400 were found eligible for Paxlovid and nearly 1,700 were immediately prescribed and given Paxlovid — approximately 70% of eligible patients.
To ensure deployments are reaching New Yorkers most in need, over 75% of mobile Test to Treat locations were located in TRIE neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic. The mobile Test to Treat program has performed 62% of tests and deployed over 1,800 total testing days in TRIE neighborhoods. Of those New Yorkers tested who self-reported their race or ethnicity, 34% were Black, 27% were Hispanic or Latino, 20% were White, 10% were Asian, 8% were Other or Multiracial and 2.3% were Native American, Native Hawaiian, Native Alaskan or Pacific Islander.
Mobile Test to Treat units are currently deployed at the locations listed here. New Yorkers can visit nyc.gov/covidtest to find the city-run testing site nearest and most suitable to them, including by filtering testing sites by Test to Treat, mobile testing or at-home test distribution locations.
In addition to the mobile Test to Treat program, the city’s unique 24/7 COVID-19 Hotline, 212-COVID-19, provides New Yorkers who test positive — including those using an at-home test — an immediate connection to a clinician who can prescribe treatments. After a short assessment, these clinicians can refer patients to monoclonal antibody treatment or prescribe antiviral medications, like Paxlovid, and arrange to have it delivered to their home that same day.
The city’s COVID-19 Hotline, which utilizes NYC Health + Hospitals’ Virtual ExpressCare platform to connect patients to clinicians, has connected over 23,000 New Yorkers to Paxlovid, providing approximately 12% of all Paxlovid prescriptions issued across New York City.
There are currently nearly 400 sites to access testing across New York City, including mobile Test to Treat units offering rapid and PCR testing with direct connections to treatment, hospital PCR testing sites and at-home test distribution sites. The NYC Test & Treat Corps will continue to work hand in hand with community partners to ensure testing deployments reach New Yorkers in neighborhoods most impacted by COVID-19 and to coordinate closely with DOHMH to make data-informed decisions.
Multiple COVID-19 treatments are available for people ages 12 and older and can be delivered to New Yorkers’ homes for free. For more information on COVID-19 treatments, please call 212-COVID19 and press 9 or visit nyc.gov/health/covidtreatments.
The NYC Test & Treat Corps
The NYC Test & Treat Corps is the City’s comprehensive effort to respond to COVID-19 by providing New Yorkers accessible, no-cost testing, rapid connections to COVID-19 treatments and resources to support those recovering from Long COVID. Through a partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYC Test & Treat Corps provides New Yorkers equitable, widespread access to the critical tools for COVID-19 testing and treatment. For more information, visit testandtreat.nyc.
NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs.
A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals.
Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem
Photo credit: 1) Mobile uint. 2) New Yorkers who test positive at certain mobile Test to Treat locations, if eligible, receive Paxlovid minutes after their positive test.
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