APHL Celebrates Much-Needed CDC Laboratory Construction Awards as ‘Important Beginning’

For Immediate Release

Silver Spring, MD, November 23, 2021 – The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) celebrates the most significant laboratory construction grants ever awarded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last week, CDC announced that seven state and local jurisdictions would receive a total of $175 million to build new laboratories, add more space or make renovations to existing spaces. This is the first time CDC has ever provided such substantial grants specifically for this type of construction.

“We are immensely appreciative that the Biden administration, CDC and Congress have all recognized the public health value in funding laboratory construction projects,” said Scott J. Becker, chief executive officer of APHL. “On the frontlines, these awards will allow jurisdictions to build state-of-the-art spaces to more effectively and efficiently respond to public health emergencies. Aging infrastructure has presented extensive challenges and limitations to public health laboratory functions, which have been exacerbated during the pandemic response.” The seven jurisdictions receiving awards were California ($18,554,181), Georgia ($28,111,163), Houston, TX ($8,745,376), Los Angeles County, CA ($33,020,000), North Carolina ($3,360,600), Rhode Island ($81,716,590) and Texas ($1,492,090). Several other jurisdictions did apply but did not receive funding. However, given the overwhelming support from federal leaders and agencies, they and their peers are newly optimistic that there will be more opportunities and will be encouraged to apply in the future.

“We hope this first investment, which is an important beginning, will be bolstered by additional laboratory construction funding included in the House-passed Build Back Better legislation,” said Becker. “We urge the Senate to follow their lead and quickly approve the measure to help strengthen our public health laboratory capacity and protect against health threats.”

Contact Michelle Forman at 240.485.2793 or michelle.forman@aphl.org

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The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the U.S. and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. Learn more at www.aphl.org.