State contracts with more COVID-19 testing vendors

The State of Minnesota is contracting with 10 additional COVID-19 testing vendors, according to a press release from the Minnesota Department of Health.

The new vendors will potentially be used in a variety of testing capacities including free community testing sites, schools, homeless shelters, prisons and group homes.

The new testing companies were selected following an open, competitive proposal request.

"Testing continues to be an important tool for Minnesotans to quickly identify whether they or a family member have a COVID-19 infection, so they can isolate and slow the spread of the virus," said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm. "We know the importance of testing as part of the COVID-19 response toolkit and we are committed to offering free, low-barrier testing options for Minnesotans. We anticipate the need for testing will continue into the future and we want to make sure we have the infrastructure we need to provide a robust network of testing options for Minnesotans."

Vault Health is the vendor being used for free, community testing sites for both saliva and rapid testing currently.

The following vendors were selected:
• Applied Memetics
• Cian/Patriot Labs
• COVID Medical Solutions of Illinois
• Fulgent Diagnostics
• Homeland Health Specialists
• Kashi Clinical Laboratories
• Maverick Health
• OptumServe Health Services
• Primary Diagnostics
• Shield T3

Click here to find COVID-19 testing sites around the state.