Color Health Partners with CDC to Increase Equitable Access to COVID-19 Testing

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Jul 08, 2022, 12:00 ET

BURLINGAME, Calif., July 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Color Health, a health technology company committed to advancing public health, is providing free COVID-19 testing through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program, to help millions of Americans in underserved communities access no-cost COVID-19 testing.

Through the partnership, Color will improve testing access across the country and provide a sustainable strategy for COVID-19 testing in communities that are suffering from dwindling public funding, with an emphasis on individuals who are under- and uninsured and at higher risk for severe COVID-19.

"When there are COVID-19 surges, underserved populations continue to have trouble accessing testing quickly and efficiently to prevent the spread in their communities — despite the fact that we are years into the pandemic," said Othman Laraki, CEO of Color. "Through the ICATT program, we're bringing Color's proven testing capabilities — and our commitment to improving public health — to locations where they are urgently needed. We're proud to support the CDC to help these communities become more resilient, both today and in advance of future surges of the virus."

As a part of this program, Color will stand up nearly 1,000 new testing sites across the country in the coming weeks, the majority of which are expected to be in public libraries and pharmacies in rural areas that lack sufficient access to testing. Testing site locations will be determined using the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, which is a measure of a community's vulnerability in the face of a public health emergency. Community members in locations that score high on this index are more likely to be low income, non-native English speakers, disabled, or have low digital literacy.

Most sites will use unmonitored onsite testing so that community members can pick up a free testing kit, conduct a nasal swab, and drop off the kit, all with minimal overhead required from sites. Any individual who is symptomatic, has been exposed to COVID-19, is pregnant, or is at higher risk for severe COVID-19 may utilize the sites.

Testing at these sites will be:

No cost — Regardless of insurance status, individuals will not be charged for testing at a Color site.
Safe — Testing does not require an indoor setting so as to reduce any potential exposure to symptomatic individuals.
Low-tech friendly — Color test results are sent via email and text, so visitors don't need a smartphone or high level of connectivity to get test results.
Accessible — Testing will be offered directly in these communities, including on weekends, removing the need to travel far to access a test.

Since the pandemic began, Color has been building public health infrastructure for governments, employers, and other institutions that serve large populations. Through partnerships with public and private institutions such as the City of San Francisco, the National Institutes of Health, Salesforce, the State of California, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Color's infrastructure and software make it possible for large populations to receive essential healthcare services directly where they live or work, including testing and telehealth services for preventive health and infectious disease management. Color's delivery model uses a highly automated process that reduces the cost to operate a site while still providing highly convenient and accessible healthcare services to those who need it most.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Color has partnered with more than 100 major employers and universities to provide critical testing programs. Color's partnership with the City of San Francisco has helped the city maintain one of the nation's highest per-capita COVID-19 testing rates. Most recently, the company has been working with the State of California to develop a network-approach to healthcare infrastructure that prioritizes getting the right type of COVID-19 tests to where they are needed most, in order to more flexibly respond to the demands for testing. To date, Color has supported more than 10,000 testing and 1,800 vaccination sites across the country.

For those interested in becoming an approved testing site to support the CDC's Increasing Community Access to Testing Program (ICATT) alongside Color, you can enter your information here.

About Color Health
Color, a health technology company, makes population-scale healthcare programs accessible, convenient, and cost-effective for everyone. Color works with governments, public health institutions, employers, and national health initiatives around the world, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Salesforce, the Teamsters Union, the National Institutes of Health, the State of California, the City of San Francisco, the Broad Institute and more than 100 major employers and universities. Color provides the tools for preventive health and infectious disease management, including testing, vaccinations, and other services, and is responsible for the largest school testing program in the country. For more information about Color, visit www.color.com.

About CDC
CDC works 24/7 protecting America's health, safety and security. Whether disease start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America's most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

SOURCE Color Health