California will not renew its COVID-19 testing partnership with Google life science subsidiary Verily and will instead run its statewide testing program with OptumServe, The Mercury News reported Feb. 25.
The state has declined to renew its two contracts with Verily, which expired in mid-January and late February. The contracts cost the state $62.5 million and covered more than 100 COVID-19 testing sites in 30 counties, the California Department of Public Health told the newspaper.
California officials consolidated the remaining remaining testing sites run by Verily to now be managed under OptumServe, according to The Mercury News.
The California Department of Public Health said OptumServe won a competitive bid to streamline the state's testing and reduce costs. Neither the state nor Verily disclosed whether Verily was among the companies making bids.
"We retain a great relationship with the state and have been putting in a huge, unpaid effort to ensure there’s a smooth transition of the sites Verily has supported to another vendor to ensure continuity and a good handoff," Verily spokesperson Rachel Ford Hutman told The Mercury News.
Verily will continue to provide testing in California through a separate partnership with Rite Aid.