Sacramento: $60 Million To Upgrade Public Health Laboratory

Sacramento CA

14 May, 2021

1:25 AM

Description

Press release from the Sacramento County Government: May 12, 2021 The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on May 4 accepted almost $60 million in state funding to improve and expand the capacity of the Sacramento County Public Health Lab. Funds will be used to add staff, purchase equipment upgrades, improve information sharing abilities with other laboratories, and generally strengthen the Public Health Department's capacity to fight COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. With the vote, the county can now execute a revenue agreement with the state of California Department of Public Health in the amount of $59,781,149. Funding is retroactive to March 2021, and will last through July 2023. The Sacramento County Public Health Department has been working around the clock since the beginning of the pandemic. Through its lab, the department has supported testing at 11 community sites, maintained teams to perform contact investigation and testing, rolled out community-wide vaccination clinics, provided public guidance on Health Officer Orders and state guidelines, and contracted with community agencies to provide support to families impacted by COVID-19. Additional funds are expected to help support community vaccination efforts. This press release was produced by the Sacramento County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.