CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Performer Availability Screening Service (PASS) released the following statement Tuesday afternoon regarding its previously-announced town hall meeting on industry testing protocols, now scheduled to take place Friday morning at 11 a.m. PT:
In the wake of Cutting Edge Testing’s departure from the PASS system, PASS Executive Director Ian O’Brien will host an industry town hall to discuss next steps for ensuring safety for performers on set.
“There was always inherent conflict between for-profit testing centers and a nonprofit oversight organization like PASS,” says O’Brien. “While we’re shocked by the way in which CET withdrew from PASS, it’s an eventuality for which we’ve been planning. We are working with stakeholders to build a stronger version of PASS, which is less beholden to third-parties. In the meantime, performers should continue to test with CET, TTS, AIT or other testing centers utilizing PASS Certified testing protocols.”
The two largest testing services for performers, CET and Talent Testing Service (TTS), stopped submitting tests to the PASS database in the past year, over disputes related to COVID-19 tests. In June, following new guidance from Cal/OSHA, PASS revised its protocols to allow vaccinated performers to forgo COVID-19 testing in certain circumstances.
“PASS is more than just a database of work clearances,” says O’Brien. “For over a decade, we’ve established the guidelines for safe production and successfully prevented HIV transmission from occurring on PASS sets. As an organization, our commitment will always be to performers’ safety, not profit.
“In the short-term, we will focus on the certification of additional labs, so that performers have increased options. But a central database is essential to facilitating production, and acting quickly in the case of a production hold. Private for-profit companies have no such obligation, and it is imperative that we use this opportunity to establish a lasting framework for performer testing and safety.”
The PASS town hall is open to anyone in the industry and will take place on Friday, July 16th at 11am. Registration details will follow.
