California Red Wave 2020
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https://www.kcra.com/article/gov-newsom-gives-update-wildfires-coronavirus-aug-26/33808511
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that California has signed a contract worth up to $1.4 billion to provide cheaper coronavirus tests and to increase the number of people tested.
The state is partnering with PerkinElmer to build out a new laboratory in California and "full supply chain" for COVID-19 testing. He said the partnership will help drive down testing costs and improve turnaround time for results.
California is averaging about 100,000 tests per day. The state pays about $100 per test and turnaround time for results is roughly five to seven days.
With the state's contract PerkinElmer, the new cost breakdown would be:
40,000 tests: $47.99 each
100,000 tests: $37.78 each
150,000 tests: $30.78 each
The contract will initially cost the state $100 million, with a maximum amount of $1.4 billion, according to the Newsom administration. The goal is to begin processing tens of thousands of new tests by November and reach full capacity by March.
"This is exactly what the federal government should be doing," Newsom said. "And had the federal government done this some time ago, you wouldn't see average costs of tests at $150 to $200."
California has had a relationship with Massachusetts-based PerkinElmer for 30 years. The company conducts newborn screening for the state and operates other genetic testing programs.