Weekly SARS-CoV-2 screening of asymptomatic kindergarten to grade 12 students and staff helps inform strategies for safer in-person learning.
Cell Rep Med
; 2(11): 100452, 2021 11 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1483013
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in K-12 schools was rare during in 2020-2021; few studies included Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended screening of asymptomatic individuals. We conduct a prospective observational study of SARS-CoV-2 screening in a mid-sized suburban public school district to evaluate the incidence of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), document frequency of in-school transmission, and characterize barriers and facilitators to asymptomatic screening in schools. Staff and students undergo weekly pooled testing using home-collected saliva samples. Identification of >1 case in a school prompts investigation for in-school transmission and enhancement of safety strategies. With layered mitigation measures, in-school transmission even before student or staff vaccination is rare. Screening identifies a single cluster with in-school staff-to-staff transmission, informing decisions about in-person learning. The proportion of survey respondents self-reporting comfort with in-person learning before versus after implementation of screening increases. Costs exceed $260,000 for assays alone; staff and volunteers spend 135-145 h per week implementing screening.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Schools
/
Mass Screening
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Cell Rep Med
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.xcrm.2021.100452
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