Healthy Yolo Together (HYT) has provided free saliva-based COVID-19 testing services in Yolo County since approximately August 2020 and during the majority of the pandemic. As a result of HYT and the University of California, Davis’s testing efforts, Yolo County has a testing rate more than double that of the statewide average. According to HYT, this high degree of testing has helped control the presence of COVID-19 in Yolo County. HYT estimates that within the Davis community (where HYT initially targeted its testing efforts before expanding to other areas of the County), the high degree of testing reduced the number of COVID-19 positive cases by 27 percent and deaths by 61 percent.
Due to a lack of funding, however, HYT cannot continue to provide testing services beyond December 2021 and into calendar year 2022 without funding support from the County and cities. To this end, HYT has proposed a new testing model which would offer testing five days per week at three community testing sites in Davis, West Sacramento, and Woodland (assuming relevant cities also partner in funding), along with a mobile team to offer testing in Winters and smaller towns within unincorporated Yolo County. HYT plans to contract separately with school districts to provide onsite testing at schools for those districts that desire to still receive these services.
While HYT’s testing proposal would reduce its community testing efforts by roughly half compared to current testing levels, the proposal would still leave Yolo County with a level of testing above the statewide average. HYT estimates that the total cost to operate the testing program from January to March 2022 will be $2.1 million. Of this amount, HYT proposes to absorb the $1.1 million in administrative and overhead costs and asks that the County and cities cover the $1 million in estimated test costs. Of this amount, Yolo County has been asked to contribute $500,000 which is equivalent to the requested contribution from the cities of West Sacramento, Woodland, and Davis.
HYT indicates it can also continue this new testing model from April to June 2022, but at this time cannot commit to absorbing the $1.1 million in administrative and overhead costs for that period. HYT is exploring other funding sources to cover that cost. Assuming HYT can cover the administrative and overhead costs from April to June, the testing costs for the County and cities to will be $1 million for this period. However, should HYT be unable to cover the administrative and overhead costs, the total costs for this three-month period could increase to as much as $2.1 million. Assuming the County splits the administrative and overhead costs with the cities, the County share of costs for the period of April to June 2022 could be as high as $1.05 million. In total, the County share of cost to continue operation of HYT testing from January to June 2022 ranges from $1 million to $1.55 million, assuming cities provide the full match to the County’s contribution.
HYT currently is in discussions with the County and the cities of Davis, West Sacramento, and Woodland to confirm interest in funding HYT’s testing proposal. County staff concurrently are in discussions with the state to identify options to expand state testing efforts within Yolo County at low to no cost. Staff note, however, that state-provided molecular test results for COVID-19 may take longer to receive compared to the typical 1 to 2 -day turnaround HYT offers. The average testing turnaround time statewide for COVID-19 testing is currently 1 day from receipt by the UC Davis laboratory, but the state’s Valencia Branch Lab has an average turnaround time of 1.5 days, not including additional 0.5-1 days for shipping time. In the past, turnaround times at the Valencia Branch Lab have been significantly longer during periods of high testing volume. Staff further note that any delays in testing results may adversely impact our efforts to contain community spread and reduce COVID-19 infection rates.
Yolo County received $10.5 million in state Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) funds, which may be spent to improve epidemiology and lab capacity in efforts to better respond to outbreaks like COVID-19. While these funds have been programmed for the grant period through July 2023, the County is able to reallocate and advance spend some of the ELC funds to cover the cost of the HYT testing proposal. The ELC plan, however, had been programmed to pay for Public Health staffing throughout the grant period. Should COVID-19 remain at heightened levels throughout the grant period, advancing funds to pay for HYT may result in other funding sources needing to pay for that staffing cost toward the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Staff are requesting that the Board authorize the Interim County Administrator or designee to have delegated authority to enter into an agreement with HYT not to exceed $1.0 million. This amount would pay for the testing services through March 2022 and up to June 2022. If HYT cannot secure additional funding to continue testing operations from April to June 2022, County staff will return to the Board in February to recommend an approach for the remainder of the academic year.
It should be noted that HYT presently has no plans to continue to operate after June 2022, given the conclusion of the academic year at both the University and at local school districts and likelihood that vaccination rates may improve over this time horizon as more age groups are vaccinated. As a result, the County would need to evaluate its testing approach for the 2022-23 fiscal year starting in July. |