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A new study from Boston Children s Hospital and the Massachusetts Department of Health compared one of the latest rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 the Abbott BinaxNOW with a highly accurate PCR test in a high-volume, drive-thru testing environment. They found that the rapid test detected almost all adults who tested positive by PCR if they had had symptoms lasting seven days or less. In symptomatic children with less than seven days of symptoms, the test picked up about 85 percent of true positive cases.
But no matter the age, if the patient had high amounts of virus in their nose, the test caught it 99 percent of the time. It was also able to rule out COVID-19 in almost all people who were not infected, including adults and children with and without symptoms.
Brookline schools will launch COVID testing for teachers and students
Wicked Local
After securing funding from the town, the Public Schools of Brookline is one step closer to launching a COVID-19 testing pilot program for certain staff and students.
The pilot the logistics of which have yet to be determined will include weekly asymptomatic testing for some 1,100 student-facing PSB staff, as well as one or two rounds of testing (likely following school vacations) for sixth through 12th grade students in the district’s hybrid learning model.
The testing pilot program will be funded through a $300,000 transfer from the town’s Reserve Fund.