ArticlePloS one2021
Identifying optimal COVID-19 testing strategies for schools and businesses: Balancing testing frequency, individual test technology, and cost.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Economic Evaluation of COVID-19 Screening Tests and Surveillance Strategies in Low-Income, Middle-Income, and High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Pooled it
- Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemicThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Feasibility of molecular-based testing strategies for SARS-CoV-2-screening in workplaces: a systematic review and reporting checklist.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Comparison of socio-economic determinants of COVID-19 testing and positivity in Canada: A multi-provincial analysis.PloS one · 2023Observational
- Comparison of high-frequency in-pipe SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based surveillance to concurrent COVID-19 random clinical testing on a public U.S. university campus.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Testing Intervals: Twice or Thrice a Week?Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Evaluation of observed and unobserved self-collection of saline gargle samples for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in outpatients.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Modeling for COVID-19 college reopening decisions: Cornell, a case study.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Cost-analysis of COVID-19 sample collection, diagnosis, and contact tracing in low resource setting: The case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.PloS one · 2022Article
- Pooling saliva samples as an excellent option to increase the surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 when re-opening community settings.PloS one · 2022Article
- On an optimal testing strategy for workplace settings operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.PloS one · 2022Article
- Article
- Proposal of Smith-Waterman algorithm on FPGA to accelerate the forward and backtracking steps.PloS one · 2022Article
- Recent findings and applications of biomedical engineering for COVID-19 diagnosis: a critical review.Bioengineered · 2021Review
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using RT-LAMP and molecular beacons.Genome biology · 2021Article
- Group Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Allows for Up to 10-Fold Efficiency Increase Across Realistic Scenarios and Testing Strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Designing optimal COVID-19 testing stations locally: A discrete event simulation model applied on a university campus.PloS one · 2021Article
- A holistic approach for suppression of COVID-19 spread in workplaces and universities.PloS one · 2021Article
- Screening plans for SARS-CoV-2 based on sampling and rotation: An example in a European school setting.PloS one · 2021Article
- Pooling in a Pod: A Strategy for COVID-19 Testing to Facilitate a Safe Return to School.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 test sensitivity and specificity have been widely examined and discussed, yet optimal use of these tests will depend on the goals of testing, the population or setting, and the anticipated underlying disease prevalence. We model various combinations of key variables to identify and compare a range of effective and practical surveillance strategies for schools and businesses.
methodsWe coupled a simulated data set incorporating actual community prevalence and test performance characteristics to a susceptible, infectious, removed (SIR) compartmental model, modeling the impact of base and tunable variables including test sensitivity, testing frequency, results lag, sample pooling, disease prevalence, externally-acquired infections, symptom checking, and test cost on outcomes including case reduction and false positives.
findingsIncreasing testing frequency was associated with a non-linear positive effect on cases averted over 100 days. While precise reductions in cumulative number of infections depended on community disease prevalence, testing every 3 days versus every 14 days (even with a lower sensitivity test) reduces the disease burden substantially. Pooling provided cost savings and made a high-frequency approach practical; one high-performing strategy, testing every 3 days, yielded per person per day costs as low as $1.32.
interpretationA range of practically viable testing strategies emerged for schools and businesses. Key characteristics of these strategies include high frequency testing with a moderate or high sensitivity test and minimal results delay. Sample pooling allowed for operational efficiency and cost savings with minimal loss of model performance.
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