19271 UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, MN, USA.
142519 Washington, DC, USA.
Public Health Rep. 2021 Nov-Dec;136(6):663-670. doi: 10.1177/00333549211045816. Epub 2021 Sep 6.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted widespread closures of primary and secondary schools. Routine testing of asymptomatic students and staff members, as part of a comprehensive mitigation program, can help schools open safely. "Pooling in a pod" is a public health surveillance strategy whereby testing cohorts (pods) are based on social relationships and physical proximity. Pooled testing provides a single laboratory test result for the entire pod, rather than a separate result for each person in the pod. During the 2020-2021 school year, an independent preschool-grade 12 school in Washington, DC, used pooling in a pod for weekly on-site point-of-care testing of all staff members and students. Staff members and older students self-collected anterior nares samples, and trained staff members collected samples from younger students. Overall, 12 885 samples were tested in 1737 pools for 863 students and 264 staff members from November 30, 2020, through April 30, 2021. The average pool size was 7.4 people. The average time from sample collection to pool test result was 40 minutes. The direct testing cost per person per week was $24.24, including swabs. During the study period, 4 surveillance test pools received positive test results for COVID-19. A post-launch survey found most parents (90.3%), students (93.4%), and staff members (98.8%) were willing to participate in pooled testing with confirmatory tests for pool members who received a positive test result. The proportion of students in remote learning decreased by 62.2% for students in grades 6-12 ( < .001) and by 92.4% for students in preschool to grade 5 after program initiation ( < .001). Pooling in a pod is a feasible, cost-effective surveillance strategy that may facilitate safe, sustainable, in-person schooling during a pandemic.
新冠疫情大流行促使中小学广泛关闭。作为综合缓解计划的一部分，对无症状学生和教职员工进行常规检测有助于学校安全开放。“集中混检”是一种公共卫生监测策略，即将检测群体（混检池）基于社会关系和身体接近程度进行分组。集中混检为整个混检池提供一个实验室检测结果，而不是为每个池内人员提供单独的结果。2020-2021 学年，华盛顿特区的一所独立学前至 12 年级学校使用集中混检对所有教职员工和学生每周进行现场即时检测。教职员工和年龄较大的学生自行采集前鼻拭子样本，经过培训的工作人员则为年龄较小的学生采集样本。2020 年 11 月 30 日至 2021 年 4 月 30 日期间，共有 1737 个检测池的 863 名学生和 264 名教职员工的 12885 个样本接受了检测，平均每个池有 7.4 人。从样本采集到池检测结果的平均时间为 40 分钟。每人每周的直接检测费用为 24.24 美元，包括拭子。在研究期间，有 4 个监测检测池的检测结果呈新冠病毒阳性。在发布后的调查中，发现大多数家长（90.3%）、学生（93.4%）和教职员工（98.8%）愿意接受阳性检测结果的池成员进行确认检测。启动该项目后，6-12 年级学生的远程学习比例下降了 62.2%（<0.001），学前班至 5 年级学生的远程学习比例下降了 92.4%（<0.001）。集中混检是一种可行且具有成本效益的监测策略，可在大流行期间促进安全、可持续的面对面学校教育。
