Inactive

The purpose of this modification is to post all questions and answers from interested parties. Additional questions, at the Contract Specialist s discretion, may be considered on a case by case basis ... The purpose of this modification is to post all questions and answers from interested parties. Additional questions, at the Contract Specialist s discretion, may be considered on a case by case basis and posted as an amendment by May 1st. Detailed responses to the RFQ, as described in the SOW, are due by 5/6. I am hoping to find out if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement. If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the contract or task order number? There is no incumbent, this is a new request. Will specialized kits be provided for this project? If so, will they contain prepaid shipping labels? No. blood tubes will be standard and need to be provided by the vendor. The vendor will need to provide shipping labels. Who is responsible for the purchase of PPE? The vendor. -Currently REDACTED travels within 100 miles of Pittsburgh, including parts of Ohio and West Virginia. How will the geographic area be determined? We would prefer a national collection capability. Geographic areas will be determined by the l ocation of participants. How many times will a research participant be required to provide a specimen? At least once. But there could be the potential for serial collection depending on the particular research protocol. Due to the nature of certain study requirements, the mobile agency must have the ability to complete this identification and contact process within a period of <72 hours in order to have a required specimen collected on time. In the response to the above procedure, does this mean the scheduling and verification process only have to be complete in the 72 hour timeframe or the scheduling and the collection needs to be complete in 72 hours? Scheduling and verification How many tubes will be required to drawn per task order? It depends. The initial task order will likely be for 6 tubes per draw What type of tube ? example: lavender top whole blood with or without EDTA 6.0ml /10 ml? Need the specifics for ordering purposes and processing? 10ml EDTA and 8ml SST, For example (but could vary with task orders) Will any supplies including but not limited to task orders or and lab collection be provided to the contract? Not at this time Will all task orders have the same amount of tubes and procedures? Not necessarily. But they will be similar. Will all task orders require the same shipping procedures and ship to same address? Not necessarily. Shipping addresses will likely be different for each task order. All will be within the continental US. Will each task order required to ship individually with shipping number or can multiple samples be shipped in same container but individually package with the same tracking number? Multiple samples can be shipped together, as long as tubes from each draw are packaged together and labeled appropriately. Basically, multiple samples can go in the same box for shipping, but blood tubes from each draw need to be packaged as a unit within the box. Delivery of requested blood/blood products/biospecimens shall commence no later than one (1) week after award of contract.) -Will Contractor be allowed to request a project start up allowance for the supplies needed to execute the delivery request under III. Work Requirements 9? No upfront costs. Supply costs can be built into the price per blood draw. The government will accept a supplemental pricing structure that thoroughly explains the industry standard pricing methodology and covers the areas request in the VA's proposed pricing structure. Is there are target geographic area? We would like nationwide coverage but target geographic areas will depend on number of interested and consented patients in an area. Is there a number cap of states assigned per contractor? No Will there be multiple contractors assigned per state? The intent is to award a single contract to cover national collection efforts, however government reserves the right to award multiple contracts per 52.212-1 (h). How is the destruction of PHI handled? In accordance with VA handbook 6500, per contract clauses, and meet NIST 800-88 standards. Confirmation of data destruction must be sent to the VA COR in email form. Is there a minimum monthly/weekly sample submission requirement? No Clarification on the chain of communication relative to appointment scheduling? Research study team member informs participant that mobile agency will be contacting them. She/he will try to determine date/time with participant if possible. Research Study team will contact vendor and VA COR about the participant including contact information. Vendor will then make contact with participant and schedule blood collection. Once scheduled the vendor contacts both the VA COR and research study team with time and location. Upon successful (or unsuccessful) collection, vendor will again notify the research study team and VA COR and give shipping details (when to expect shipment). Clarification on the chain of communication for donor-initiated cancellations and rescheduled appointments. Donors will contact the vendor for cancellations and reschedules. Vendor will contact VA COR AND program listed on the task order. How many donors have already consented to participation to date? he protocol is enrolling, but the only collections taking place are through local collection centers that the participant has to travel to. This contract will allow for collection in the participants; homes. Will the CDC provide the contractors with PPE? No Where should the cost associated with shipping the samples to the CDC be included in the calculations of the bid? Please include the estimated ship cost as a line item in the pricing schedule. Additionally, the government will accept a supplemental pricing structure that thoroughly explains the industry standard pricing methodology and covers the areas request in the VA's proposed pricing structure. Is there any form of reimbursement for travel to donor outside of the continental US? No, but we will likely not collect from donors outside CONUS Is there any reimbursement for expenses not directly listed in the packet? No, however, the government will accept a supplemental pricing structure that thoroughly explains the industry standard pricing methodology and covers the areas request in the VA's proposed pricing structure. What items or services are not reimbursable? Please include estimated costs of travel, fuel, etc. into overall blood collection costs. Supplies and shipping can be separate line items. Is their separate reimbursement for mileage? No. please factor this into the cost of the draws/collections. The government will accept a supplemental pricing structure that thoroughly explains the industry standard pricing methodology and covers the areas request in the VA's proposed pricing structure. Will the contractor have access to selected vendors for supplies such as ppe, needles, tubes? There Is no specific mechanism in place to provide supplies via VA selected vendors.