{"643766":{"#nid":"643766","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Campus Surpasses 200,000 Covid-19 Tests","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis week Georgia Tech surpassed 200,000 Covid-19 tests collected and processed on campus since surveillance testing began last fall. The Institute\u0026rsquo;s regular testing of students, faculty, and staff has kept the number of positive cases relatively low on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn January Georgia Tech, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), began administering Covid-19 vaccines. Health experts recommend that, even though the vaccine is being administered, weekly surveillance testing should continue.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Studies show that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness from Covid-19. What we don\u0026rsquo;t know yet is how effective they are at preventing asymptomatic infection and whether they prevent people from carrying the virus and spreading it to other people,\u0026rdquo; said Dr. Ben Holton, senior director of Stamps Health Services. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s why the current recommendations from the CDC are, even if you\u0026rsquo;ve had two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, you still need to wear a mask and practice social distancing, because we don\u0026rsquo;t know yet if you can spread the virus after being vaccinated. We are encouraging people to continue getting tested after they have had the vaccine.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETesting is done on a walk-up basis, is free of charge, and takes just a few minutes. Participants should login to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mytest.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Emytest.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E with their Georgia Tech account, complete the survey, and generate a tracking barcode for the test before visiting one of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/testing#asymptomatic\u0022\u003Etesting sites\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/testing#asymptomatic\u0022\u003E on campus\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow Testing Works \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe samples are transferred to the test lab three times a day for evaluation. To reduce the number of polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests that must be run each day, the saliva samples are pooled so that a single test can examine samples from five individuals. An innovative dual pooling strategy can identify one individual in a set of samples who is presumed positive.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003EWhat is dual pooling? Let\u0026rsquo;s follow your sample:\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EYour sample is split into \u003Cstrong\u003Etwo pools\u003C\/strong\u003E. Each pool contains a total of \u003Cstrong\u003Efive samples\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u0026nbsp;With six pools from 15 participants, everyone is uniquely in two of the pools.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EThe samples are mixed together and each \u003Cstrong\u003Epooled sample\u003C\/strong\u003E is tested with a single test.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EEveryone who participates in surveillance testing \u003Cstrong\u003Ewill receive a notification\u003C\/strong\u003E that they are either recommended or not recommended for a follow-up diagnostic test.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EIf \u003Cstrong\u003Eneither of your pools \u003C\/strong\u003Ecomes back positive, then \u003Cstrong\u003Eyou are informed that you are not recommended for a follow-up test \u003C\/strong\u003Eand no further action is required at this time.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EIf \u003Cstrong\u003Eboth of your\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003Epooled samples are positive\u003C\/strong\u003E, your original sample is then \u003Cstrong\u003Etested individually\u003C\/strong\u003E in the CLIA lab to confirm the sample has SARS-CoV-2.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EIf \u003Cstrong\u003Eone of your pools\u003C\/strong\u003E comes back positive but your\u003Cstrong\u003E other pool does not\u003C\/strong\u003E, then usually \u003Cstrong\u003Eyour sample was not the positive one\u003C\/strong\u003E. However, sometimes there is ambiguity and the lab retests it anyway, which is why some people are notified that they are recommended for a diagnostic test, but subsequently test negative. This double positive requirement minimizes false positives.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe surveillance and diagnostic testing is normally completed within 36 to 48 hours, allowing contact tracers to identify other community members who may have been exposed.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESurveillance testing participants may notice they are asked to reconsent before their next test when they visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mytest.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Emytest.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E. The lab will now perform additional tests to identify the strain of virus, for the purpose of informing policy to help keep campus safe. The reconsent acknowledges this fact. Individuals will not be provided the strain information, since it does not change any follow-up procedures for a positive result.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EContinued surveillance testing is important in identifying asymptomatic Covid-19 members of the Tech community and keeping the daily case counts low.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESince last fall the Institute\u0026rsquo;s regular testing of students, faculty, and staff has kept the number of positive cases relatively low on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Since last fall the Institute\u2019s regular testing of students, faculty, and staff has kept the number of positive cases relatively low on campus."}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2021-02-04 13:40:41","changed_gmt":"2021-02-04 14:22:44","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"642065":{"id":"642065","type":"image","title":"Surveillance Testing Kit","body":null,"created":"1607695362","gmt_created":"2020-12-11 14:02:42","changed":"1607695362","gmt_changed":"2020-12-11 14:02:42","alt":"Surveillance Testing Kit","file":{"fid":"243931","name":"08032020_COVID_Test_Kits-108-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/08032020_COVID_Test_Kits-108-1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/08032020_COVID_Test_Kits-108-1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":533998,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/08032020_COVID_Test_Kits-108-1.jpg?itok=Ihloq63F"}},"643763":{"id":"643763","type":"image","title":"Tiff\u0027s Treats on Tech Green","body":null,"created":"1612279032","gmt_created":"2021-02-02 15:17:12","changed":"1612279358","gmt_changed":"2021-02-02 15:22:38","alt":"Tiff\u0027s Treats on Tech Green ","file":{"fid":"244405","name":"_MG_1229.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_MG_1229.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_MG_1229.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":577262,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/_MG_1229.JPG?itok=9aUInoN5"}}},"media_ids":["642065","643763"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/faces-testing","title":"Faces of Testing"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/broad-based-asymptomatic-testing-program-helps-control-covid-19","title":"Broad-based Testing Helps Control Covid-19"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2021\/01\/21\/testing-success-depends-participation","title":"Testing Success Depends on Participation"},{"url":"https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/testing","title":"Testing site locations\/hours"},{"url":"https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/vaccine\/","title":"Vaccine Information "}],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"184289","name":"covid-19"},{"id":"185498","name":"surveillance testing"},{"id":"185332","name":"asymptomatic"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}