By Steven Allen Adams, The Weirton Daily Times
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An at-home testing program for COVID-19 that lasted only 10 days before being shuttered by the state was just a small part of a larger purchase according to invoices.
West Virginia ended a partnership with New York-based Vault Health to offer at-home saliva tests kits free of charge to state residents. The program began on Dec. 2, but state officials announced the end of the program on Dec. 11.
According to the wvCheckbook.com, the transparency website provided by the State Auditor’s Office, DHHR’s Division of Health paid Vault more than $4.6 million for invoices on Dec. 4 — enough for more than 39,000 saliva test kits. The funds came from either the Central Office General Administrative Fund or the Public Health-Federal Fund for COVID-19 epidemiology and lab capacity for prevention and control.
“Effective immediately, the state will no longer be offering the in-home Vault testing kit,” said Bill Crouch, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources, during a coronavirus briefing last Friday. “That is stopped at this point.” …
To read more: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2020/12/w-va-spends-big-with-company-while-discontinuing-program/