PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Pennsylvania will offer voluntary COVID-19 testing in all K-12 schools. But, state leaders claim the success of the program relies on parents and districts allowing their students to take part in the testing.
The weekly classroom testing is free for districts and it is paid for by an $87 million federal stimulus grant.
The testing is available for schools across the state, except for Philadelphia which organizes its own health initiatives. The nasal swab testing will be led by a company called Ginkgo Bioworks. The testing does not focus on individual results. Instead, it relies on a pool of samples from up to 25 students to detect if COVID19 is present in the classroom. If a positive test is uncovered Ginkgo then alerts the school district so it can take further testing action. Company leaders said the testing does not involve a deep nasal swab but rather a swab of the lower inner nose. Company representatives will oversee the testing inside the classroom so that teachers will not need to supervise it and students will be able to correctly administer the nasal swab on their own.
The $87 million dollar grant that funds the testing is part of $338 million in federal U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds allocated to Pennsylvania to detect, diagnose, trace and monitor COVID-19 and prevent spread in schools.
The state is also directing vaccine providers to support COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
Read more from the PA Dept of Health:
Vaccination Clinics
COVID-19 vaccinations provide the best protection against the virus. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on August 16, 2021, an order by the Acting Secretary of Health directing vaccine providers to coordinate vaccine clinics with school entities and institutions of high education went into effect. When requested to do so by any institution of higher education or school entity, vaccine providers are expected to make every effort to coordinate a vaccine clinic for the employees, contractors, volunteers, students, or students’ families of the school. The clinics can be held at the school or a location agreed upon by the school and vaccine provider. If a provider is unable to coordinate a vaccination clinic with the school, the provider is responsible for directing the school to the Department of Health to be provided with contact information for other vaccine providers. The United States Department of Education recommends schools use the We Can Do This On-Site Vaccination Clinic Toolkit for help working directly with vaccine providers to setup vaccination clinics.
“Despite COVID-19 vaccines being available for some individuals, adolescents under the age of 12 still cannot be vaccinated to protect themselves against the virus,” Beam continued. “That is why we are encouraging all K-12 schools to take advantage of a unique opportunity to bring COVID-19 testing into your schools free of charge. It is imperative that students, educators, and staff who feel they need or want a test, especially if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms, have access to free COVID-19 testing. In addition to getting vaccinated, this testing initiative is another tool in our toolbox for schools to keep ‘Friday night lights’ shining brightly this year.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who are fully vaccinated and have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 be tested three-to-five days after exposure, and to wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result. Otherwise, the department recommends getting tested if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
K-12 Testing Program
The Wolf Administration’s partnership with Ginkgo allows K-12 school districts throughout Pennsylvania to take advantage of classroom testing and provide safer in-person environments for students and educators. Pooled classroom testing, which combines anterior nasal swab samples from all consenting individuals in a classroom and runs them as a single test, is a simple and scalable way to easily test many students at once while minimizing resource strain. Pooled testing is a strategy that builds on many measures undertaken by schools and public health systems, including vaccination, symptom screening, physical distancing and facilities improvements, masks/face coverings, hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, and monitoring of return to school after illness.
“Students and teachers across Pennsylvania are looking forward to returning to their classrooms for the new school year – let’s do everything we can to make sure they are safe while teaching, learning, and growing together,” said Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “We encourage Pennsylvania’s schools to continue to coordinate COVID-19 vaccination clinics and participate in the free COVID-19 testing program to help protect their communities and maintain healthy conditions.”
For K-12 schools that participate, pooled testing will be performed weekly to identify and prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the schools. Mid-nasal swab and saliva-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will be performed. The turnaround time for testing results is 1-2 days after testing. Testing is voluntary, but cooperation will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the school and mitigate a school shutdown. This $87 million testing contract will run throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
“Pennsylvania’s intermediate units are honored to partner with the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education to assist schools with implementing multiple mitigation strategies in order to maximize in-person learning opportunities,” said Dr. John George, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units.
Concentric by Ginkgo operates statewide programs in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Arizona, North Carolina, and other states. The program has already been piloted in the state and is immediately accepting sign-ups from schools and districts.
“We built Concentric because everyone’s health is connected, and we’re proud to work with school districts across Pennsylvania to support comprehensive testing within school communities,” said Matthew McKnight, Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo. “Asymptomatic testing provides critical information to educators, public health leaders, and community members. Each of us at Concentric is committed to supporting communities as they work to keep kids in classrooms and COVID out this fall.”
To support schools in the event a student tests positive for COVID-19, visit PDE’s website to access information on responding to COVID-19 cases in schools.
For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit “Responding to COVID-19” on pa.gov.