California’s San Francisco and Alameda (home to Oakland) counties are no longer using Verily’s COVID-19 testing system, according to Kaiser Health News. Verily, an Alphabet-owned health-focused company, signed contracts collectively worth $55 million with 28 California counties earlier this year to make coronavirus testing more accessible in the state. Shortly after opening testing sites in March, though, members of Alameda’s COVID-19 Racial Disparities Task Force raised concerns about Verily’s protocols. In particular, they pointed out how requiring people to sign up for testing with a Gmail account keeps it out of reach for low-income residents who need it the most.
While Verily doesn’t do testing itself — it has contracts with other companies who supply the testing kits and do the lab work — it provides a digital platform where people can sign up for testing. It also runs testing sites where people can drive-thru for a nasal swab. Signing up for testing through Verily requires a Gmail account, though, and that has proven to be an issue, especially with the homeless who don’t always have access to a phone or an internet connection.
The task force also raised concerns about the fact that people have to provide sensitive personal information, including their addresses and whether they have chronic health conditions, when they sign up. Verily uses language in its privacy policy that says it can share people’s information with third parties involved in the testing program.
Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO of Roots Community Health Center in Oakland who worked with Verily to establish a walk-up site at her clinic, echoed the task force’s concerns. She found that the people who registered through Verily for testing tended to be white — her clinic mostly serves African Americans and other PoCs — and to come from wealthier ZIP codes outside of East Oakland. The doctor severed her ties with Verily after only six days.
Dr. Jonathan Fuchs, who leads San Francisco County’s testing strategy, confirmed to Kaiser that the partnership with Verily is “currently on hold.” Verily spokesperson Kathleen Parkes told the publication, though, that conversations with San Francisco and Alameda remain “active.” In addition, she explained that the testing program requires a Gmail account so that it can use Google’s authentication procedures to protect people’s sensitive data.
via engadget.com
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