Ebola Entry Screening Services

This contract is a sole-source award justified under FAR 6.302-2 due to an unusual and compelling urgency arising from the ongoing Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, which has resulted in hundreds of suspected and confirmed cases and necessitated immediate U.S. public health response measures. The CDC’s Division of Global Migration Health requires contractor support to sustain emergency operations at designated U.S. ports of entry, including airport screening locations, where personnel must be rapidly deployed to conduct public health risk assessments, traveler engagement, surveillance, epidemiologic analysis, and data collection via the Quarantine Activity Reporting System. The contractor must provide fully badged and bonded Public Health Program Support Specialists, Data Scientists, Health Scientists, and licensed medical professionals with pre-existing access to Federal Inspection Services areas—an essential and exclusive capability held by the selected provider, XWell, Inc., which eliminated competitive alternatives. The total contract value is $43,582,109.75, covering a six-month base period with a single six-month option, and funding is subject to availability under HHS appropriation mechanisms. No line-item pricing, packaging, or delivery specifications are defined, as the contract is service-based and urgent, with performance occurring at multiple U.S. airport locations and CDC field facilities. The acquisition bypasses standard public notice and competitive procedures under FAR 5.101(b)(2) due to the emergency nature of the outbreak and the lack of other vendors with the required FIS badging and emergency response credentials. Evaluation focused exclusively on technical uniqueness and operational urgency rather than price competitiveness, with prior performance, emergency response experience, and business stability serving as secondary but non-determinative factors. Approval authority was elevated through HHS internal governance channels, requiring signatures from the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, the OPDIV Head of Contracting Activity, the Department Competition Advocate, and the HHS Senior Procurement Executive, reflecting the high-value nature of the award. Contract administration is overseen by Lauren Peel as the Contracting Officer and Ian Ruskey as the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative, with Nikia Evans serving as supervisor. No solicitation, delivery schedule, or invoicing mechanism was specified beyond the performance period, and no contractor representations or certifications regarding size status, UEI, or socioeconomic designation were included in the documentation, consistent with the emergency sole-source justification under federal acquisition regulations.