GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After investigations into their legitimacy from Better Business Bureaus in several states, the Center for Covid Control announced that they will be pausing COVID testing operations at all locations to train staff.
The company released a statement Thursday saying it will "temporarily pause further collection of patient specimens effective Friday, January 14, 2022."
The announcement comes after concerns raised by the BBB and 13OYS. The BBB rating for the company is an 'F' and notes that it is unresponsive to complaints.
"There were a TON of red flags that this company was a data mining scam that is a hazard to public health. After waiting in line for a few minutes, the single employee working at this site, brought a group of about 30 people into a small open room with poor ventilation," Scott F writes in the customer reviews section of the BBB website.
13OYS spoke with Joshua Coulter of Grand Rapids who received a test from the location near 28th and Breton before visiting family for Thanksgiving.
"My instant test came back almost immediately, which makes sense. About 15 minutes later, but then three days later, I got, supposedly, the PCR test, but that came with the exact same .pdf. They sent me the same .pdf document twice." Coulter said about the test results.
The Center for Covid Control is an Illinois-based company that claims to have free PCR tests with results available by the end of the day. The company plans to reopen locations for testing on Saturday, Jan 22.
“Center for Covid Control is committed to serving our patients in the safest, most accurate and most compliant manner. Regrettably, due to our rapid growth and the unprecedented recent demand for testing, we haven't been able to meet all our commitments,” said CCC founder and CEO Aleya Siyaj.
The Attorney General's office is working with the BBB to learn more about the company. The BBB is advising people who have received testing from any of the Center for Covid Control's sites to monitor their credit and make sure their identity isn't being used.
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