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Tag: college
June 4, 2021
Implementing Mandatory Testing and a Public Health Commitment to Control COVID-19 on a College Campus
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A report from George Washington University, a large urban university in Washington, DC, highlighted the institution’s successes in mitigating the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among students and staff. Mitigation measures included development of a dedicated rapid and high-throughput COVID-19 laboratory, weekly and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 testing, and daily risk screening and symptom monitoring. During…
May 17, 2021
Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection in a University Student Population
The risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among college students with prior infection was 2.2% (n = 16,101, 2,021 with and 14,080 without previous infection), while estimated protection from previous infection was 84% among students tested in fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters at a large university in South Carolina. All students with access to main campus…
Seven-Day COVID-19 Quarantine May Be Too Short Assessing Post-Quarantine Transmission Risk in Four University Cohorts
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A cohort study conducted at four US universities between September 2020 and February 2021 found that a seven-day quarantine period may not be sufficient to maintain a 5% transmission risk threshold, and that risk depends on the strictness of quarantine measures. The study compared “strict quarantine”, which included designated housing with private…
May 13, 2021
Results of a Shortened Quarantine Protocol on a Midwestern College Campus
No evidence of onward SARS-CoV-2 transmission was observed among college students released from quarantine after 7 days at the University of Notre Dame between September and November 2020. The 7-day quarantine protocol required both a negative PCR test on day 4 and a negative antigen test on day 7. Among 1,130 asymptomatic contacts of index…
May 3, 2021
Young Adults Underestimate How Well Peers Adhere to COVID-19 Preventive Behavioral Guidelines
Young adult college students at the University of Washington (n = 539) reported strong adherence to most CDC COVID-19 preventive behavioral guidelines, including mask-wearing in public (97.5%) and cleaning high-touch surfaces (61.7%), but perceived significantly lower adherence among their peers for all 14 behaviors assessed, according to a survey conducted in September 2020. Participants perceived…
April 30, 2021
Large University with High COVID-19 Incidence Did Not Increase Risk to Non-Student Population
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] The COVID-19 incidence among non-student residents of Centre County, PA (home to Penn State University) was lower than among non-student residents of neighboring counties after students returned to classes in fall 2020. However, the rate of COVID-19 among student residents of Centre County was higher than among non-residents in all surrounding counties….
April 5, 2021
Health Literacy, Digital Health Literacy, and COVID-19 Pandemic Attitudes and Behaviors in U.S. College Students: Implications for Interventions
Among 256 US college students surveyed in June 2020, only 49% reported adequate health literacy (HL) and 57% found digital health literacy (DHL) tasks easy overall. DHL tasks included searching for health information online. Both HL and DHL were independently associated with overall compliance with basic preventive practices for COVID-19. Higher DHL was significantly associated…
March 23, 2021
Surveillance-Based Informative Testing for Detection and Containment of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreaks on a Public University Campus: An Observational and Modelling Study
A novel strategy of random testing combined with follow-up targeted testing in outbreak areas (“surveillance-based informative testing”, SBIT) was associated with a 36% reduction in peak weekly COVID-19 cases at Clemson University in South Carolina over a 2-week period. The strategy helped identify outbreaks in 45 residence halls across 8 buildings. Transmission models based on…
March 17, 2021
SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology on a Public University Campus in Washington State
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A SARS-CoV-2 testing program at the University of Washington found that SARS-CoV-2 spread through school-based outbreaks without evidence of spread to the surrounding community. The testing program, which prioritized individuals with symptoms and high-risk exposure, identified 236 cases out of 16,476 tests conducted in the fall of 2020. Affiliation with a university…