Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34487461›Full record

ArticlePublic health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

Pooling in a Pod: A Strategy for COVID-19 Testing to Facilitate a Safe Return to School.

Ethan M Berke, Lori M Newman, Suzanna Jemsby, Bethany Hyde, Natasha Bhalla, Natalie E Sheils, Nandini Oomman, John Reppas, Prateek Verma, Gerard A Cangelosi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Ethan M Berke19271 UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, MN, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0805-8218
Lori M Newman142519 Washington, DC, USA.
Suzanna JemsbyWashington International School, Washington, DC, USA.
Bethany Hyde19271 UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, MN, USA.
Natasha BhallaWashington International School, Washington, DC, USA.
Natalie E Sheils19271 UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, MN, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0631-5834
Nandini OommanWashington International School, Washington, DC, USA.
John ReppasWashington International School, Washington, DC, USA.
Prateek Verma19271 UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, MN, USA.
Gerard A Cangelosi7284 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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 (

Indexed as

AdolescentChildChild, PreschoolCOVID-19COVID-19 TestingFemaleHumansMalePandemicsPublic Health SurveillanceSARS-CoV-2SchoolsTime FactorsUnited StatesCOVID-19poolingSARS-CoV-2school healthsurveillancetesting

Identifiers

PMID34487461
PMCPMC8575981

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.