First-of-its-Kind Personalized 'COVID-19 Risk Score' Launches to Enable Safer Re-opening and Return to Work Plans

Newswise — As more businesses and employees prepare to return to work around the country, Coriell Life Sciences (CLS) is rolling out a new tool in the fight against COVID-19: personalized COVID-19 Risk Scores.  Using proprietary, advanced data analytics, CLS analyzes information from medical records to identify the number of unique risk factors linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes an individual has.  Factors include thousands of potential risk elevators, from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension to allergies, anemia, and more.  The higher the number of risk factors, the higher the likelihood of experiencing severe or fatal symptoms if infected with the virus.

“This type of intelligence has the power to play a pivotal role in protecting the most vulnerable among us,” says Jeffrey A. Shaman, PhD, Chief Science Officer at Coriell Life Sciences.  “It’s clear people who suffer from chronic medical conditions are far more likely to fare poorly if they have COVID-19, but it’s hardly that simple.  Other factors, such as blood type and medications used, are also showing evidence they may be related to negative outcomes.  By analyzing individuals’ health history against thousands of medical codes that are aligned to risk factors for poor COVID-19 outcomes, we can determine who has the greatest risk of requiring acute care and empower them to be more vigilant in protecting their health.”

Individuals are eligible for COVID-19 risk scoring through participating employers.   

“Beyond empowering individuals to better protect their health, this information can also be used to help business leaders strategically tackle the high-stakes complexities surrounding when and how to get their teams back to work safely,” notes Coriell Life Sciences’ President & CEO Scott Megill.  “Both are critical elements in lessening the impact of this pandemic on public health and our country’s economic health.  The bottom line is we must make better use of the information that’s available today while the global scientific community remains keenly focused on scaling diagnostics and developing effective therapeutics and a viable vaccine.”

COVID-19 risk scoring is part of CLS’ new Return to Work Program.  This program provides an intelligence-driven solution designed to help organizations safely resume operations.  In addition to analyzing employee and facility data to illuminate risks and barriers to re-opening, the program offers businesses turnkey infrastructure for managing large-scale COVID-19 testing of employees in partnership with a network of laboratories across the country.

A leader in genetic science, CLS also enables organizations to help employees advocate for their health by offering personalized COVID-19 Genetic Drug Safety Reports.  Based on preemptive DNA testing, this report reveals how an individual would likely respond to approximately 45 drugs that could be used during COVID-19 treatment and have known genetic implications.  This information can be provided to a physician or pharmacist to inform an effective treatment plan.

“The reality is that some drugs just don’t work for some people,” notes Dr. Shaman.  “Some aren’t safe for one person but are completely fine for another.  Differences in our DNA are responsible for some of this variation.  Precision medicine enables us to determine which drugs will be both safe and effective for patients with COVID-19 – as well as many other conditions.” 

To learn more, visit coriell.com.

About Coriell Life Sciences

Coriell Life Sciences (CLS), a leader in genetic science, uses innovation in precision medicine to reduce healthcare costs and empower a healthier world.  With scientific expertise that spans six decades, CLS bridges the gap between genetic knowledge and clinical application and offers the most comprehensive medication risk management program on the market.  Visit coriell.com, email [email protected] or follow @CoriellLife.

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