Testing and Contact Tracing

A. Yes! With more and more ways to test for COVID-19, it’s definitely tough to keep track of everything out there! But before we talk about the different options, it’s important to keep in mind that there are tests that assess ACTIVE (or CURRENT) infection (molecular tests), and then there are tests that assess PAST Read more…

A: Antibody tests are important in understanding Covid-19 and its spread through a population, but the information might not be as useful on a personal level just yet. When considering a serology test, we encourage you to think about why you are getting the test, where you will receive the test, and how it will Read more…

A: Group testing! Simply put, you combine several samples and test them all at once. If the combined sample comes back negative, you know that all the patients in that group do not have COVID-19. If it comes back positive, you go back and do individual tests on the same samples. This group-testing strategy is Read more…

A: The FDA has granted emergency authorization to pharmaceutical company Roche for a new antibody test that is much more accurate than existing options. Quick reminder about antibody testing: It provides information about PAST (as opposed to current) infections. Reason for optimism: The new test has much (!) better accuracy than others on the market, Read more…

Q2: Can I get hired to do contact tracing? Q3: Will the Apple/Google phone tracing technology replace the need for contact tracers? A1: A contact tracer… traces contacts! In an infectious disease outbreak, a contract tracer talks to people who have tested positive for the disease (a “case”) to find out all the people they Read more…

A: NPR has a great cheat sheet describing the three major types of COVID tests under discussion: (1) PCR – Test for CURRENTLY ACTIVE infections via identification of genetic material in mucus; (2) Antibodies – Test for PAST INFECTIONS in the blood; (3) Antigen – Test for CURRENTLY ACTIVE infections via identification of proteins in Read more…

A: The short answer, as statistician Thomas Lumley says, is that “counting rare things is hard.” There is much we still don’t know about antibody testing for COVID-19 (levels of detection, interpretation, length/duration/extent of immunity). One issue is the testing itself. While current active illness tests (swab/PCR) are very accurate when performed correctly and at Read more…

A: Health departments are notified when an individual tests positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing staff reach out to new cases by phone to determine who (i.e., friends, family, co-workers) they may have had close contact with (within 6 ft) beginning with the days leading up to the onset of their symptoms, as well as what Read more…

A: In sum, contact tracing helps us identify people who have been in close contact with a person infected with the virus by 1) Identifying the contacts; 2) Listing the contacts and recommending self-isolation or quarantine; and 3) Following up with contacts to assess for symptoms of illness. This is critical because it helps limit Read more…

A: Sampling sewage (!) and/or a small number of randomly selected individuals Testing wastewater (aka sewage) is a validated monitoring tool for opioid misuse and antibiotic resistance, and new evidence is demonstrating its effectiveness for detecting the coronavirus. Utah and Ohio are examples of states rolling out individual-level random sampling on a small subset of Read more…

A: With serological (aka blood) testing, we can learn: (1) The true scope of COVID spread; (2) Who exhibits immunity; (3) How to best develop (promising!) blood-based treatments from COVID survivors. Links: Wired Original FB post

NBC news asked every state health department what residents in that state should do if they have symptoms or otherwise think they need to get tested. Link to original FB post