ols Operating Safely: Provides up-to-date information, including clinical and implementation guidance, for CDC grantees at the vanguard of the nation’s COVID-19 screening/testing efforts. In April 2021 CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Disease [ELC] awarded $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on behalf of CDC to 62 recipients s in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. This page links to all 62 implementation plans, and provides a large suite of resources for launching and maintaining school screening testing programs.
What You Should Know about COVID-19 Testing in Schools: Provides updated guidance (01/06/22) from the CDC’s Division of Adolescent Health [DASH] about COVID-19 testing as schools go back to in-person learning after the winter holidays break. Some schools may offer regular COVID-19 testing for students and staff, even for people who don’t have symptoms of COVID-19. Many schools will also offer testing for people with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Schools do not need to require a negative test result for students, teachers and staff to return to school after breaks.
Start-Up Guide for COVID-19 Testing in Schools: Provides a 1-page start-up guide to help schools initiate or strengthen regular COVID-19 testing systems intended to maximize safety for students and school staff while facilitating in-person K-12 learning. This guide is proved by the Rockefeller Foundation, which has joined forces with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education [ED], and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] to launch a learning network for school and district leaders to help them start or strengthen COVID-19 screening testing programs.
Family FAQs about Testing: Offers responses to a set of ten questions parents are likely to consider if invited by their child’s school system to have the student participate in regular COVID-19 testing. This guide is proved by the Rockefeller Foundation, in concert with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education [ED], and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], supporting a learning network for school and district leaders about how to start or strengthen COVID-19 screening testing programs.
Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19: Invites individuals to find a COVID-19 testing location near them, no matter what state they live in. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established this on-line tool, indicating where COVID-19 tests are available at health centers and select pharmacies. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act ensures that COVID-19 testing is free to anyone in the U.S., including the uninsured. [Beyond those listed, additional testing sites may be available, so readers are advised to contact their health care providers or their state or local public health departments for more information.]
Overview of Testing for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): Provides the most recent/current CDC guidance on the appropriate use of testing for SARS-CoV-2 in light of additional testing capacity throughout the country. (This CDC guidance does not address decisions regarding payment for or insurance coverage for COVID-19 testing).
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update (01/03/22): FDA Takes Multiple Actions to Expand Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: Amends the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]’s emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to:
- Expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals 12 through 15 years of age.
- Shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months.
- Allow for a third primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children 5 through 11 years of age.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] updated its recommendations on 01/04/22 to conform to the new FDA authorizations.
Vaccines.gov: Serves as the federal government’s primary web