tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Pediatrics
. 2023 Jul 1;152(Suppl 1):e2022060352I.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-060352I. Utilization and Impact of Symptomatic and Exposure SARS-CoV-2 Testing in K-12 Schools
Jennifer E Schuster[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Tyler R Erickson[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jennifer L Goldman[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniel K Benjamin[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], M Alan Brookhart[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stephen Dewhurst[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Alex Fist[SUP] 3 [/SUP], John Foxe[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Maya Godambe[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Lisa Gwynn[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Susan M Kiene[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Dana Keener Mast[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Corinne McDaniels-Davidson[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jason G Newland[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Eyal Oren[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Rangaraj Selvarangan[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Nidhi Shinde[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Tyler Walsh[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Treymayne Watterson[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Martin Zand[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Kanecia O Zimmerman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ibukunoluwa C Kalu[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that schools can offer severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnostic (on-demand) testing for students and staff with coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms or exposures. Data related to the uptake, implementation, and effect of school-associated on-demand diagnostic testing have not been described.
Methods: The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations Return to School program provided resources to researchers to implement on-demand SARS-CoV-2 testing in schools. This study describes the strategies used and uptake among the different testing programs. Risk of positivity was compared for symptomatic and exposure testing during the δ and ο variant periods. We estimated the number of school absence days saved with school-based diagnostic testing.
Results: Of the 16 eligible programs, 7 provided school-based on-demand testing. The number of persons that participated in these testing programs is 8281, with 4134 (49.9%) receiving >1 test during the school year. Risk of positivity was higher for symptomatic testing compared with exposure testing and higher during the ο variant predominant period compared with the δ variant predominant period. Overall, access to testing saved an estimated 13 806 absent school days.
Conclusions: School-based on-demand SARS-CoV-2 testing was used throughout the school year, and nearly half the participants accessed testing on more than 1 occasion. Future studies should work to understand participant preferences around school-based testing and how these strategies can be used both during and outside of pandemics.
. 2023 Jul 1;152(Suppl 1):e2022060352I.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-060352I. Utilization and Impact of Symptomatic and Exposure SARS-CoV-2 Testing in K-12 Schools
Jennifer E Schuster[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Tyler R Erickson[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jennifer L Goldman[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniel K Benjamin[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], M Alan Brookhart[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stephen Dewhurst[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Alex Fist[SUP] 3 [/SUP], John Foxe[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Maya Godambe[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Lisa Gwynn[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Susan M Kiene[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Dana Keener Mast[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Corinne McDaniels-Davidson[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jason G Newland[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Eyal Oren[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Rangaraj Selvarangan[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Nidhi Shinde[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Tyler Walsh[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Treymayne Watterson[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Martin Zand[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Kanecia O Zimmerman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ibukunoluwa C Kalu[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 37394504
- PMCID: PMC10312273
- DOI: 10.1542/peds.2022-060352I
Objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that schools can offer severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnostic (on-demand) testing for students and staff with coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms or exposures. Data related to the uptake, implementation, and effect of school-associated on-demand diagnostic testing have not been described.
Methods: The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations Return to School program provided resources to researchers to implement on-demand SARS-CoV-2 testing in schools. This study describes the strategies used and uptake among the different testing programs. Risk of positivity was compared for symptomatic and exposure testing during the δ and ο variant periods. We estimated the number of school absence days saved with school-based diagnostic testing.
Results: Of the 16 eligible programs, 7 provided school-based on-demand testing. The number of persons that participated in these testing programs is 8281, with 4134 (49.9%) receiving >1 test during the school year. Risk of positivity was higher for symptomatic testing compared with exposure testing and higher during the ο variant predominant period compared with the δ variant predominant period. Overall, access to testing saved an estimated 13 806 absent school days.
Conclusions: School-based on-demand SARS-CoV-2 testing was used throughout the school year, and nearly half the participants accessed testing on more than 1 occasion. Future studies should work to understand participant preferences around school-based testing and how these strategies can be used both during and outside of pandemics.