Tests to keep the plan may keep more kids in school after COVID-19

according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), TTS (also known as modified quarantine) includes regular testing and contact tracing, allowing close contact of people tested positive for COVID-19 to stay in the classroom.

An important part of this strategy is that other preventive strategies such as universal masking are maintained to reduce the spread of the disease.

“I think taking steps to help children learn directly and continue to participate in extracurricular activities is an absolute positive step.” Henry Bernstein, DO, MHCM, a pediatrician at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, told Healthline.

But he emphasized that this does not mean that we should not continue to use the “trial and error” mitigation factors we know at work. [and] Use a mask if necessary. “

In March, Utah granted final approval to Senate the bill SB107This allows those who are negative for COVID-19 on the antigen test at the time of development to return to class and those who are positive to stay at home.

May Weekly morbidity and mortality report (MMWR) According to the CDC, the Utah program has produced good results.

“These programs helped complete about 95% of high school extracurricular events and saved an estimated 109,752 face-to-face instruction student days,” read the report.

Michael GrossoMD, Chief Medical Officer and Dean of Pediatrics at Huntington Hospital in Northwell Health, Long Island, New York, called the TTS experience presented in Utah “very promising.”

“We know that antigen testing can be very helpful in detecting individuals who are likely to be infectious,” he said. “Molecular tests like PCR may be more sensitive, but antigen-negative people are unlikely to spread the virus, even if they are infected.”

Like other states Massachusetts When New York, TTS is also implemented.

according to CDCThe PCR test will “almost always” tell you if you are currently infected and can spread the disease to others, and if you are infected with the virus.

However, testing requires lab processing and may take several days to receive the results.

Antigen testing shows results quickly, but is less sensitive than PCR, works best when someone shows symptoms of COVID-19, and is performed during the first 5-7 days of the disease.

According to Bernstein, one way to counter the decrease in sensitivity is to increase the frequency of testing.

“Even if the antigen detection test is less sensitive, for example, if you do it daily, you may be able to overcome the reduced sensitivity of the daily test,” he explained.

According to Grosso, every possible strategy to control the spread of the coronavirus has its strengths and weaknesses.

“The ideal approach is to protect all children from infection while eliminating all interruptions to face-to-face learning,” he said.

He said experts have for some time recommended the closest approach to achieving both goals: social distance, masks, hand hygiene, and immunity.

Bernstein pointed out that vaccination remains the most effective strategy for ensuring the safety of school students and staff.

“We cannot fully emphasize how important it is for unvaccinated people to be vaccinated,” he said.

He added that mitigation factors (such as wearing masks and social distance), combined with various strategies such as stay tests, “may be really beneficial to students and families.”

He said he did not yet have enough information on Omicron, the latest concern to be identified.

“But to be honest, Delta is still the dominant stock at this point,” he added. “So, using it, when Omicron gets the data again, decide if there is an appropriate adjustment.”

Part of Biden’s strategy for this winter’s pandemic is a “stay test” that tests students who are in close contact with students who test positive for COVID-19, rather than isolating them.

Experts say that rapid antigen testing used for this purpose is not as effective as PCR testing, but increasing the frequency of testing is one way to avoid the problem.

They also say that even with “tests to stay,” people must continue to use proven illness precautions such as wearing masks, increasing social distance, and vaccination.