Color’s Software Facilitating a Significant COVID-19 Testing Increase in California

Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Burlingame-based health technology company Color will provide software infrastructure and test collection kits in support of the collaboration between PerkinElmer Health Sciences, Inc. and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). At full capacity, the newly constructed Valencia laboratory will perform 150,000 COVID-19 tests per day, significantly increasing the state’s current capacity and enabling easier access to COVID-19 testing to residents throughout the state of California. All of the Valencia testing will be ordered and reported through Color’s platform.

The collaboration represents a new approach to testing in California that accomplishes two main goals: 1) enable any organization to easily stand up a sample collection site with frictionless registration and return of results, and 2) improve access to testing among traditionally underserved communities. This is also the first instance of a laboratory reporting public health data to the California COVID-19 Reporting System (CCRS), the State’s new COVID-19 test results reporting system.

Color’s software can integrate with public health testing infrastructure anywhere, including large scale laboratories and community-led testing sites such as churches, schools, and local government facilities. It will enable individuals to show up at a collection site, provide a sample quickly, and receive results within two days on their phone or computer. Simultaneously, Color’s software will report results to CDPH’s new COVID-19 data reporting system, CCRS. Individuals will not be required to create a new account nor submit an email address to access testing, better supporting access for traditionally underserved populations. In addition to software, the State of California has contracted with Color to provide standardized sample collection kits with user-friendly handouts in different languages that explain how to access results. 

“This ambitious public-private partnership brings innovative technology to make COVID-19 testing more accessible,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Our goal is not only to dramatically increase testing capacity, but to ensure that testing is accessible in areas and among populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.”

The program has already launched more than a dozen collection sites across Kings County and Tulare County. Collection sites include school districts, a county courthouse, and a community site in the Tulare Government Plaza, and the program has already helped train and equip individuals new to sample collection for COVID-19 testing. In the next few weeks, the program will expand to additional sites and counties across California and State institutions.

“There’s a better way to deliver COVID-19 testing, and what we’re building with PerkinElmer and the State of California demonstrates how it can and should be done,” said Color CEO Othman Laraki. “People should be able to access health services wherever they are. Our software helps make that possible, so Californians are empowered to protect their own health and the health of their communities.”

The collaboration brings together the best of California innovation to provide a strong testing solution as part of the state’s COVID-19 response. Color’s nationally-recognized digital platform is currently used for testing programs across the spectrum of public health. Since April, Color has partnered with the City of San Francisco on its successful CityTestSF program. Color has also worked with federally qualified health centers in Alameda County and in San Francisco’s Mission District in partnership with the Latino Task Force to reach communities disproportionately impacted by the virus, as well as with Marin County to provide testing for teachers to allow schools to reopen safely. Color’s platform also supports academic institutions across the country such as The University of Southern California, Harvard, and Morehouse School of Medicine.

About Color

Color is a leader in distributed healthcare and clinical testing. Color makes population-scale healthcare programs accessible, convenient, and cost-effective for everyone. Color works with health systems, employers, and national health initiatives around the world including the million-person All of Us Research Program by the National Institutes of Health. For more information about Color and its response to COVID-19, visit www.color.com.