The Crucial Role Testing Plays in Virus Mitigation

According to Our World in Data, which is a part of the Global Change Data Lab, the number of average daily tests in the United States was up to 2 million toward the end of September 2021. That number has since dropped but still maintains a steady flow of nearly one million tests per day. In other words, as a society, we know the crucial role that testing plays in controlling this virus. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy requires school employees and state workers to get tested once or twice a week if they are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This mandate goes for employees and teachers at both public and private schools for all grades from pre-school to 12th grade. This decision was made to help protect students. As kids return to the classroom, this mandate will help ensure children (particularly those under 12 who, as of October, are not yet eligible for the COVID vaccine) are protected as much as possible in school settings.

Tests Are Now Easily Accessible

Testing has become much easier to get and more available in recent months. It’s one of the best ways to curb COVID spread in communities. You can get tested at your place of work, drive-through clinics, and LabQ Diagnostics locations throughout the country, including in New York and New Jersey. According to NJ.com’s New Jersey coronavirus tracker, more than 19 million COVID tests have been administered in the state since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, with the highest amount of testing happening in early 2021. We know that receiving a positive COVID test can feel overwhelming, but we also know that asymptomatic cases are nearly impossible to track without frequent testing and can still spread. While asymptomatic people are less likely to spread COVID-19, they still can spread the virus and can still spread it onto people who are at high risk because of underlying conditions or unvaccinated. Asymptomatic individuals who suspect they were exposed to the virus should get rapid COVID tests to help determine whether they are infected. Then, continuing on the path back to safe, normal, frequent testing before and after situations that warrant it is necessary.

Available Tests

Many different kinds of coronavirus tests are now available. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are two main categories of COVID tests available: a PCR test (or molecular test) and an antigen test. PCR tests are the preferred testing method: they are more accurate and more fully test for the virus. PCR tests are administered using a long nasal swab to collect a fluid sample to test. PCR tests can also be administered via spit test. An antigen test is also administered using a long nasal swab to collect fluid to test but has a higher chance of a false-negative response. Antigen test results can become available in as little as 15 minutes, which is known as a rapid test. But, it’s important to remember that the results aren’t always the most accurate. Therefore, if you’re experiencing symptoms, it’s still important to practice virus mitigation measures.

Do Your Part

New COVID cases in both New York and New Jersey are dropping. Throughout the country, cases are down 25 percent from mid-September, according to The New York Times COVID tracker. Frequent testing and the other science-proven safety methods that we have learned so well over the past year-plus are working. Help keep this trend up by doing your part: get tested when necessary, wear your mask, wash your hands, and get vaccinated if you’re able.

The Importance of Genetic Testing and COVID-19

Genetic testing is proving to be even more crucial as we continue through this pandemic. COVID-19 is known to be more severe and negatively impact those with underlying health conditions even if they are fully vaccinated. Politician Colin Powell recently died of coronavirus complications because of a years-long battle with blood cancer, making him more susceptible to the virus even as a fully vaccinated individual. COVID is not going anywhere anytime soon. Those at risk of developing underlying health conditions—or those who live with underlying health conditions every day—must be aware of virus spread and mitigation measures for health prevention.

Underlying Conditions

The first step of this is knowing if you have or may develop an underlying health condition—genetic testing and knowing your family genes can help determine the underlying conditions you are at risk of developing or already have. Many people living with underlying health conditions are unaware of their malady. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, underlying conditions such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver or lung diseases, heart conditions, HIV, diabetes, and weakened immune systems can put you at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 can result in hospitalization, dying, or experiencing long-term side effects from COVID-19 such as needing a ventilator to help you breathe, dealing with frequent shortness of breath, suffering from a chronic cough, or developing certain heart problems.

Know Your Risk

For people with underlying health conditions, staying healthy during this pandemic means much more than getting vaccinated. It also means knowing your risk level as determined by genetics, which can be detected using innovative health measures like genetic testing. Unfortunately, many people living with underlying health conditions don’t know it, which makes them even more susceptible to severe COVID. Knowing your risk is crucial to maintaining a healthy you, looking out for your future health, and helping to keep future generations healthy, too.

School Closures and Remote Schooling

Initially, concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus resulted in school closures throughout the world. Educators scrambled to cobble together an online curriculum and to meet the needs of students who were isolated at home. Students with mental health needs could not access the services they would usually have at school, such as school counselors and accommodations that assist them in the school environment. Students could not see their friends and engage in extracurricular activities. As the days dragged on, 83% of students with mental health concerns reported that the pandemic worsened their symptoms.

Disruption of Family Systems and Routines

While teachers were scrambling to put together an online curriculum and learning to navigate a digital delivery system, parents and families were adapting to having school-age children home for the day. Parents and children had to develop new routines. For many families, this involved parents working from home. For other families, this involved a parent quitting their job to stay home with the children. Many parents lost their jobs or had their incomes cut, causing significant financial stress for the family. Children expressed fears that they would contract COVID-19 or that a family member would become sick and die. With 756,000 COVID-19 deaths and counting in the United States, many children and their families are grieving the loss of close relatives. Children who live in homes where a parent may have a mental health or substance use disorder are especially at risk, as they cannot leave the home or access outside support.

Lack of Access to Services

The pandemic also challenged the ability of mental health agencies to provide care. Many agencies shut down during the initial phases of the pandemic, and their providers began working from home. Children were required to see their providers via telemedicine instead of face-to-face. Scheduling appointments and managing medications became increasingly challenging for families. Agencies struggled to provide care and transition to a telemedicine model. Preventive care fell to the wayside, resulting in children not being seen until they were in crisis. Inpatient psychiatric units cut capacity or temporarily closed while they figured out how to manage patient care in a pandemic.

How to Support Children

Children need extra support now. Talk with your children about how they’re feeling. Talk with them about their fears that loved ones might contract COVID-19 and about their sadness when a loved one passes away. Work with other families to establish mutual support and to provide opportunities for children to socialize and engage in activities. Kimberly Hoagwood, Ph.D., and Kelly Kelleher, MD, have proposed a Marshall Plan for addressing children’s mental health after COVID-19. They suggest moving away from a “brick and mortar” approach to a community-based, more flexible method of providing services. This would include an increased reliance on telemedicine and alternative methods of service delivery.

We need to focus on the mental health needs of our children to ensure a healthy future. Now is the time to rethink how we provide care and to new models of service delivery.