Covid measures in school 21/22

[AngB]

My kiddo had zero issues filling up the saliva sample cup. No restrictions of eating or drinking before. He was 6 at the time (last summer). Results the next day.

I wish these were available here, I haven't heard of ANYONE that has done them. Anyone know of a brand name or specific test I should look for? DS2 gets severe nose bleeds and was traumatized by the last time he had to be covid tested, if there was a saliva test available I would be a lot more inclined to get him tested if I needed to in the future.

(Our schools definitely definitely won't be testing. We will be very lucky if they require masks or have any covid precautions at all.)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I wish these were available here, I haven't heard of ANYONE that has done them. Anyone know of a brand name or specific test I should look for? DS2 gets severe nose bleeds and was traumatized by the last time he had to be covid tested, if there was a saliva test available I would be a lot more inclined to get him tested if I needed to in the future.

(Our schools definitely definitely won't be testing. We will be very lucky if they require masks or have any covid precautions at all.)

Our university used Vault for at home, pre move in tests


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[PZMommy]

LAUSD did this from April 2020 to June and again for 4 weeks in summer school. It was very well organized once school was in session. We knew the day before they would be on campus the next day, then an announcement when they arrived and grade by grade would be tested. They even came back for me one day as I was unable to get to them before they left - they are in and out quickly. Principal told them they missed me and they returned after they went to another school, and got me and 2 other staff for the after school program. Granted we had less students at my school, but it was a test run. Hopefully, they can scale it up.

The issue is getting the baseline test before school starts. That was difficult to get an appointment back in April. I’ve been notified of the days the testing will be at my schools in the next 2 weeks for staff and students to get tested before school starts back, or I can go to another testing site.


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If need be, all the sites are taking walk ins. I couldn't get an appointment this past week, and needed one so I could go in to work in my room. I walked in, and was in and out in under 5 mins. Not sure why appointments weren't available as there was no one there! My principal said employees can walk in to any site and be tested. I booked appointments for my kids and I, but now that they will be at our school sites, I will just do that instead.

I agree testing in the spring went well. We had a large number of students back (over 600 including staff), and after the first week, it went smoothly.

[mom2binsd]

I wish these were available here, I haven't heard of ANYONE that has done them. Anyone know of a brand name or specific test I should look for? DS2 gets severe nose bleeds and was traumatized by the last time he had to be covid tested, if there was a saliva test available I would be a lot more inclined to get him tested if I needed to in the future.

(Our schools definitely definitely won't be testing. We will be very lucky if they require masks or have any covid precautions at all.)

Not sure when that covid test was done, but nasal swabs tests don't have to go way up and should be a gentle tickle and many places will let the child do the swab themselves with parent coaching (not sure how old your DS). Not sure how widely available the saliva tests are (I know college campus's use them widely though).

[essnce629]

Besides the up the nose swab and saliva tests, there's also the oral swab. We've done that a few times and it's probably the easiest. Swab both inside cheeks, gums, tongue, under tongue, pallet, etc for several seconds each and that's it.

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[AngB]

Not sure when that covid test was done, but nasal swabs tests don't have to go way up and should be a gentle tickle and many places will let the child do the swab themselves with parent coaching (not sure how old your DS). Not sure how widely available the saliva tests are (I know college campus's use them widely though).

He's 8 and they did a rapid and a PCR they sent off but they were not gentle and definitely did not let him do it himself (this was in Jan.) He had a lot of nose bleeds in the week after it. I got tested a week later and they still went really far up for my rapid test also. (Different place.) It doesn't look like the saliva tests are available here really which is really annoying. (I googled it and can order the vault one online for $119 and then mail the sample back and then wait for the results but by then if he was sick, he'd likely be better and we'd just move on with our lives.)

[mom2binsd]

There's no reason for them to go way up and cause trauma like that. I've had about 125 tests, some self some given by others, and other than the first last fall, the new guidance is it only needs to go about 1 inch into the nose. Hope he doesn't need another one, but if he does let them know his past experiences, unless they are cruel there is no need to hurt him.

Poor kid.

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[bisous]

He's 8 and they did a rapid and a PCR they sent off but they were not gentle and definitely did not let him do it himself (this was in Jan.) He had a lot of nose bleeds in the week after it. I got tested a week later and they still went really far up for my rapid test also. (Different place.) It doesn't look like the saliva tests are available here really which is really annoying. (I googled it and can order the vault one online for $119 and then mail the sample back and then wait for the results but by then if he was sick, he'd likely be better and we'd just move on with our lives.)

Was it possibly a nasopharyngeal swab instead of a nasal swab? I do think those go up quite high. I have had just one COVID test and it was nasopharyngeal and while the discomfort I had was very fleeting, it was a real sensation. Also, I don't think I could have done it myself very easily!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Our district just updated their website. No masks required. No distancing. No COVID case count daily summaries. No contact tracing. No quarantine requirement. Positive COVID tests are reported to the local health department as required, but these cases will not be reported to families.

I am disappointed, to say the least. I am angry.

That is infuriating. Our district has not updated their site yet, though I assume it will be similar. I went to your district website to see the official wording of what you wrote, and yikes it sounds like whoever wrote the official statement basically works for the local GOP headquarters (maybe even the Trump campaign). Made a point to exalt Gov Abbott as is if he's some sort of authority of on the virus and safety, and full of empty statements that sound nice but no basis in science or any CDC guidelines. I'd be angry too.

I doubt my district will do any different (as they're not allowed to re: masks, thanks to Abbott), but i'm hoping we will still have the tracking as we did last year and quarantine requirement, and lots of teachers/staff/students will wear masks.

We switched my DS middle school at the last minute to go to do an accelerated math program at higher income magnet school where i'm hoping the masking rate will be higher and transmission will be lower. My DS says he will wear a mask all day. He wore a mask 8 hrs a day for a week at drama camp so he says he is used to it.

Our meet the teacher/walk your schedule for both kiddos is in 1 week. Eek. I'm not as nervous about DD (5th grade) as she is still in elementary and i think the exposure will be more limited. Middle school seems like it could be a potential breeding ground for the virus...

[zukeypur]

There's no reason for them to go way up and cause trauma like that. I've had about 125 tests, some self some given by others, and other than the first last fall, the new guidance is it only needs to go about 1 inch into the nose. Hope he doesn't need another one, but if he does let them know his past experiences, unless they are cruel there is no need to hurt him.

Poor kid.

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Different tests require different specimens. There is a difference between a nasopharyngeal swab (makes you feel like you just got chlorine up your nose or ate a big spoonful of horseradish) and a nasal swab. Some tests are validated with NP swab, and others with nasal swab. The two are not interchangeable.
ETA: not sure where the new "guidance" is coming from, but if the testing platform used NP swabs to validate their tests in the lab, they have to continue to use NP swabs. They can do a new validation on that same testing platform with nasal swabs, but they can't switch over to nasal swabs until validation is complete and show as-good-as-the-original or better results.

I have been getting NP swabs every time I go in for a visit as part of my Moderna study, while DD is doing twice weekly nasal swabs as part of her Novavax study. Both are COVID tests, but they are likely being tested on different platforms. Not all tests are created equal.

I'm reading through these responses and feel like I need to come back and add more info, lol.
Re: saliva vs. nasal vs. NP swab. Think about where the virus will be if you're infected. If you have a large viral load, you may be able to detect it in saliva. If you have a smaller viral load, you will be more likely to detect it in a NP swab. Nasal swab is somewhere in between. Is an oral swab/saliva bad? No, not necessarily. It just might not be as sensitive as a nasal swab. I know the BinaxNow is using nasal swabs, but it also recommends doing two tests (which is why it's sold in a two pack; it's not for sharing or saving for later) because it's not as sensitive or specific as an NP PCR test. It still has value, it's just not as great when compared to PCR testing. In order of sensitivity: NP PCR, nasal PCR, any other PCR, NP antigen, nasal antigen, any other antigen.

Also re PCR testing: the typical PCR takes about 2 hours to run through 30-40 cycles. These rapid PCR tests, while they may pick up the majority of infected cases, may miss some if the patients who are newly infected or have a low viral load. Again, not saying they don't have value, just pointing out that all tests are not created equal.

If you're using a test as a screening tool, I would think that a nasal swab would be preferable over saliva or oral swab. I also think that PCR is preferable over antigen. And if you're doing it yourself, please read the package inserts and follow the directions precisely to avoid false results.