08/02/2022: Lab Update: Clinical Laboratory COVID-19 Response Calls Are Now LOCS Calls

CDC's Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS)

Audience: Laboratory and Testing Professionals

Level: Laboratory Update

Beginning this month, the CDC Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) will change the name of the Clinical Laboratory COVID-19 Response Calls to Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS) Calls. The new name reflects both our laboratory and testing audience and the primary channel (the LOCS email distribution list) we use to share updates about these calls with participants. You can expect to see this name change rolling out over the next few weeks – for example, online and in LOCS messages about the calls.

In March 2020, DLS convened the first Clinical Laboratory COVID-19 Response Call. This was the agency’s first COVID-19 response-specific, large-scale partner call exclusively designed for the laboratory and testing community. We have since expanded the scope of these calls to include topics other than COVID-19 – for example, the current mpox outbreak. We want to ensure the content of these calls continues to remain useful, engaging, and relevant to your work.

We will continue to schedule these calls for one hour on the third Monday of each month; the next call is scheduled for Monday, August 15 at 3:00 PM ET. We look forward to continuing to discuss hot topics and answer your questions about laboratory and testing preparedness and response.

Please share this message with your networks and invite them to opt in to LOCS to receive future updates.

Thank you,

The Laboratory Outreach Communication System

Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS) | Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS)

Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

LOCS@cdc.gov

www.cdc.gov/locs