The CDC has a “test and stay” policy for unvaccinated students

Washington — The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that unvaccinated students exposed to the coronavirus could be tested twice a week and stay in school as long as both tests return negative. ..

New guidance, known as the “test-to-stay” protocol, scrambles children who were expected to be at home if close contact was tested positive for the virus, and to regain them. Find out from school or day care that may reduce the burden on parents who had to. It also aims to minimize learning interruptions as two highly contagious variants of the virus spread and cause nationwide. Closure of some schools It threatens to overturn the strategy adopted by federal and state officials to return to face-to-face classes in the fall.

Some schools and districts Already using the test-to-stay approach, The CDC did not previously approve it due to lack of evidence. On Friday, the agency published research from two counties, California and Illinois, effectively tested the protocol and found it to work.

The study was conducted before the fast-moving Omicron mutant began to spread in the United States.Scientists are still investigating Many basic questions About variants, including whether it increases the risk of infection in school.

“Despite the recent increase in Omicron mutants, these preventive strategies are expected to continue to work,” Kristen Nordland, said. A CDC spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday. “But as we learn more about Omicron variants, the CDC will continue to review and update the guidance as needed.”

The new policy is Winter Covid-19 plan President Biden’s announcement this month still calls on students to wear masks and social distances and applies only to those who remain asymptomatic. Previously, unvaccinated students were expected to be quarantined at home for as long as two weeks after exposure. Tens of thousands of students are quarantined in some states.

“More than 99% of schools are currently open, but we need to keep them up throughout the winter,” Biden said in announcing the plan. “We want our children to go to school.”

Exposed vaccinated students are generally allowed to stay in school as long as they are asymptomatic and wear masks. Rochelle P, director of the CDC. Dr. Walensky said at a press conference on Friday that students participating in the test-to-stay program should be tested at least twice in the seven days after exposure.

of One of the studies Released on Friday, the CDC lost an estimated 92,455 days from September 20th to October 31st for students in a Los Angeles County school who were forced to quarantine because they did not participate in the pilot’s test-to-stay program. rice field. .. At the schools participating in the pilot, the students exposed to the virus were not lost for days. Those schools also did not see an increase in virus rates among students.

In Lake County, Illinois, Other studies Researchers estimate that schools participating in the program saved up to 8,152 face-to-face study days from August to October. Of the 16 students in the program who tested positive for the virus two weeks after exposure, others in the school did not appear to have infected the virus, the report said.

California students were tested twice a week after exposure. Illinois students have been tested four times.

Dr. Walensky said on Friday that the protocol was “currently proven.” She added that the “stay test” was only studied at school, so the CDC did not yet have evidence of its effectiveness in other environments.

Other studies suggest that the test-to-stay approach may be safe. 1 randomized controlled trial We found that case rates were not significantly higher in schools that included more than 150 schools in the UK and were able to stay in class on daily tests than schools that required close contact with infected students and staff. At home quarantine.

Public health experts said they supported the CDC’s support and made the right balance between keeping children safe and allowing them to continue learning directly.

Zoe M. McLaren, a health policy expert at the Department of Public Policy, Baltimore County, University of Maryland, said:

Studies suggest that the risk of infection within a school is relatively low if the school takes various precautions, such as the need for masks and improved ventilation. However, that study was done before the emergence of Omicron variants, such as the two studies published by the CDC on Friday.

Still, there is a need for strategies to protect children without closing schools and classrooms, Dr. McLaren said.

“The pandemic is changing, so we need to really think carefully about how we are using the long quarantine,” she said. “And isolate children with a low risk of exposure or a low risk of infection. We really need to think about the trade-offs involved.”

Many parents urge schools to adopt a test-to-stay program, but other parents, especially those with children at high risk of serious illness, keep exposed students in class. I’m particularly nervous. In addition, nurses at some schools, who often have the task of managing tests for their students in a test-to-stay program, have found the workload to be overwhelming, especially with high cases and exposures.