Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34723225›Full record

Observational studyCell reports. Medicine2021

Weekly SARS-CoV-2 screening of asymptomatic kindergarten to grade 12 students and staff helps inform strategies for safer in-person learning.

Shira Doron, Robin R Ingalls, Anne Beauchamp, Jesse S Boehm, Helen W Boucher, Linda H Chow, Linda Corridan, Katey Goehringer, Doug Golenbock, Liz Larsen and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Cell reports. Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
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

21 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. SARS-CoV-2 Circulation in the School Setting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
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  10. SARS-CoV-2 Screening Testing Programs for Safe In-person Learning in K-12 Schools.Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2023
    Article
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  19. Pooled testing efficiency increases with test frequency.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022
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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

13 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.

Shira DoronTufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Robin R IngallsBoston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Anne BeauchampWellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Jesse S BoehmBroad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Helen W BoucherTufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Linda H ChowWellesley School Committee, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Linda CorridanWellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Katey GoehringerCOVID-19 Response Advisors, Washington, DC, USA.
Doug GolenbockUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
Liz LarsenWellesley Education Foundation, Wellesley, MA, USA.
David LussierWellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Marcia TestaWellesley Board of Health, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Andrea CiaranelloMedical Practice Evaluation Center and Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Wellesley College · USTufts Medical Center · USBoston University · USBroad Institute · USHarvard University · USHealthcentric Advisors · USUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in K-12 schools was rare during in 2020-2021; few studies included Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended screening of asymptomatic individuals. We conduct a prospective observational study of SARS-CoV-2 screening in a mid-sized suburban public school district to evaluate the incidence of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), document frequency of in-school transmission, and characterize barriers and facilitators to asymptomatic screening in schools. Staff and students undergo weekly pooled testing using home-collected saliva samples. Identification of >1 case in a school prompts investigation for in-school transmission and enhancement of safety strategies. With layered mitigation measures, in-school transmission even before student or staff vaccination is rare. Screening identifies a single cluster with in-school staff-to-staff transmission, informing decisions about in-person learning. The proportion of survey respondents self-reporting comfort with in-person learning before versus after implementation of screening increases. Costs exceed $260,000 for assays alone; staff and volunteers spend 135-145 h per week implementing screening.

Indexed as

Mass ScreeningSchoolsAdolescentAdultChildCOVID-19Educational PersonnelHumansProspective StudiesStudentsUnited Statesasymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 screeningCOVID-19in-school SARS-CoV-2 transmissionK-12 schoolsmitigationpreventionSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID34723225
PMCPMC8549440
OpenAlexW3208660050

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.