Video: Is self COVID-19 testing or pool testing better for schools? Massachusetts doctor weighs in
Updated: 5:07 PM EST Jan 18, 2022
SIGN UP THIS WEEK FOR A NEW STATE PROGRAM ALLOWING THEM TO TEST FOR COVID-19 AT HOME. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. WELCOME BACK. ED: GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOVERNOR BAKER ANNOUNCED TODAY, PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL NOW HAVE A CHOICE — EITHER STICK WITH THE POOL TESTING PROGRAMS THAT MYAN ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE OR ALLOW FAMILIES TO TEST THEMSELVES AT HOME AND REPORT THE RESULT S. IN YOUR OPINION, DOES ONE OPTION MAKE MORE SENSE? DR. ELLEN:RI THIS TEST-AND-STAY STRAGYTE HAS BEEN VIRAL. IT HAS CAP SO MANY KIDS IN SCHOOL, WN HEUYO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. BUT NOW, WE ARE AT A DIFFERENT POINT IN THE PANDEMIC. CASE CANS ARE GOING DOWN. WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS STRATEGY IS ATTH MOST KIDS IN SCHOOL BEING TESTED NATURALLY TEST NEGATIVE, LIKELY BECAEUS MASKS IN SCHOOL ARE WORKING. WHAT GOVERNOR BAKER IS SHIFTING TO DOES MAKE SENSE. WILL ONCE A WEEK AT HOME BE ENOUGH? PROBABLY YES. THERE MAY BE OTHER TIMES DURING BIGGER SURGES WHEN WE MAY NEED TO TEST AT HOME MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK. BUT THIS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THIS TEST-AND-STAY STRATEGY HAS BEEN VERY LABOR-INTENSIVE. IT ALLOWS NURSES AND SCHOOLS NOW TO FOCUS ON SYMPTOMATIC KIDS RATHER THAN TESTING ASYMPTOMATIC. MARIA: YOU HAVE TO TEENAGER SCHOOL — TWO TEENAGERS IN SCHOOL. YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT THEM, SO DO YOU THINK THE HEALTH RISK OF COVID FOR THEM, THEIR CLASSMATES, THEIR TEACHERS, HAS CHANGED? DR. ELLERIN: MARIA, I ABSOLUTELY DO. THE BIGGEST RISK RIGHT NOW IS KIDS NOT BEING IN SCOLHO. IT IS NOT COVID. COVID TENDS TO BE VERY MILD IN CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO ARE VACCINATED. THE KEY IS, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WE WANT TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO KEEP OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL, WHETHER THAT IS MASKING RIGHT NOW, THEN SBEO IT. WILL WE NEED MASKS IN SCHOOL FOREVER? PROBABLY NOT. TBU NOW, WE KNOW 96% OF SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COURYNT HAVE REMAINED OPEN AND THAT IS A GOOD THING. A RECENT STUDY FROM JAAM PEDIATRICS SHOWED THE BIGGTES CHALLENGE OF KIDS BEING AT HOME IS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND ANXIETY. WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL. ED: WHAT TO HANDLE SOME VIEWER EMAIL QUESTIONS? DR. ELLEN:RI I DO. ED: THE FIRST ONE IS FROM TIM. HE SAYS, “MY DAUGHTER WILLE B FIVE IN APRIL. FROM A MEDICAL/SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT, WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO WAIT THREE MORE MONTHS TO GET VACCINATED? IS HER BODY REALLY GOING TO CHANGE THAT MUCH BETWEEN NOW AND THEN?” DR. ELLEN:RI I GET THE POINT. YOU WANT TO GET YOUR CHILD VACCINATED AND IT MAKES SENSE BUT REMEMBER, CLINICAL TRIALS ARE TSE UP THAT INCLUDE AGES OF A CERTAIN RANGE. WHEN NICKEL TRIALS WERE DONE BETWEEN AGES FIVE AND 11, TWO YEARS AND FIVE YEARS AND SIX MONTHS TO TWO YEARS OLD. UNTIL YOUR CHILD IS FIVE YEARS OF AGE, HOLD OFF OTHN E VACCINE, BUT SIGN UP AS SOON AS YOU CAN WHEN THEY GET TO THAT MINUMIM AGE. MARIA: THIS ONE IS FROMARY. G HE ASKS “DOES THE OMICRON , VARIANT LIVE ON SURFESAC LONGER THAN OTHER VARIANTS?” I THOUGHT IT DIDN’T LIVE ON SURFACES, I THOUGHT IT WAS AIORNERB, WHICH IS WHY WE STOPPED WIPING DOWN OUR GROCERIES? DR. ELLERIN: MARIA, YOU ARE SPOT ON. THE BATTLEGROUND IS THE AIR THAT WE SHARE, NOT SURFACES. IN CHINA, THERE HAS BEEN SOME CASE REPORTS OF POTENTIAL TRANSMISSIONS OCCURRING ON SURFACES. ION D’T THINK THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN. IT IS CERTAINLY NOT A MAJOR SOURCE OF TRANSMISSION. IT REALLY IS THESE LARGER DROPLETS, OR AEROSOLS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE A SHORT DISTAN BCEETWEEN EACH OTHER. WASHING HANDS IS A GOOD IDEA, BUT THAT IS PROTECTING AGAINST BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION AND OTHER VIRUSES AS OPPOSED COVID-19. THIS VIRUS, THE DOMINANT TRANSMISSION IS THROUGH SHARED AIR. ED: I L
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Video: Is self COVID-19 testing or pool testing better for schools? Massachusetts doctor weighs in
Updated: 5:07 PM EST Jan 18, 2022
This week, students and teachers in Massachusetts can sign up for a new state program that allows them to test for COVID-19 at home.
This week, students and teachers in Massachusetts can sign up for a new state program that allows them to test for COVID-19 at home.
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