D.M. Bruno is associate professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences University, School of Public Health, Brooklyn, New York.
A. Afable is associate professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences University, School of Public Health, Brooklyn, New York.
Acad Med. 2022 Jun 1;97(6):863-866. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004624. Epub 2022 Feb 8.
In the spring of 2020, New York City was an epicenter of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and mortality. One of the hardest hit areas in New York City was central Brooklyn, where State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate is located. As the severity of the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic waned in New York City, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University planned to institute COVID-19 surveillance on campus to limit its spread among employees and students.
In collaboration with university leadership and students across schools, the SUNY Downstate Contact Tracing Corps was established in July 2020. Using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health, protocols for case and contact investigations, including scripts, were developed. Students were recruited and trained in remote and confidential case and contact investigations.
From August 1, 2020, to March 23, 2021, there were 185 COVID-19 cases referred to the contact tracing program; of these, 180 were successfully investigated and isolated (97%). Case investigations identified 111 Downstate close contacts; 105 were investigated and quarantined (94.5%). There were 122 exposure-only investigations referred to the program, and 121 were successfully investigated and quarantined (99%).
The SUNY Downstate Contact Tracing Corps transitioned to a core group of tracers in January 2021 and has been maintained at 4 to 6 tracers since that time. With the emergence of COVID-19 variants, the threat of new variants, and variable COVID-19 vaccination rates across Brooklyn, Downstate employees and students remain vulnerable to COVID-19 transmission. Given this, the SUNY Downstate Contact Tracing Corps will continue to conduct case and contact investigations.
2020 年春季，纽约市成为 COVID-19 感染、住院和死亡的中心。纽约市受灾最严重的地区之一是布鲁克林市中心，纽约州立大学下州分校（SUNY Downstate）就位于这里。随着 COVID-19 大流行在纽约市的最初浪潮的严重程度减弱，SUNY Downstate 健康科学大学计划在校园内进行 COVID-19 监测，以限制其在员工和学生中的传播。
2020 年 7 月，与大学校领导和学校的学生合作，成立了 SUNY Downstate 接触者追踪队。该团队使用疾病控制与预防中心和纽约州卫生部的指南，制定了病例和接触者调查的方案，包括脚本。学生们接受了远程和保密的病例和接触者调查的培训和招募。
从 2020 年 8 月 1 日至 2021 年 3 月 23 日，有 185 例 COVID-19 病例被转介到接触者追踪项目；其中 180 例成功调查并隔离（97%）。病例调查确定了 111 名与下州有关的密切接触者；105 人接受了调查和隔离（94.5%）。该项目还转介了 122 例仅暴露调查，其中 121 例成功调查并隔离（99%）。
2021 年 1 月，SUNY Downstate 接触者追踪队过渡到一个核心追踪者小组，此后一直保持着 4 到 6 名追踪者。随着 COVID-19 变体的出现，新变体的威胁，以及布鲁克林各地 COVID-19 疫苗接种率的不同，下州的员工和学生仍然容易受到 COVID-19 的传播。考虑到这一点，SUNY Downstate 接触者追踪队将继续进行病例和接触者调查。
