COVID-19 Testing and Case Rates and Social Contact Among Residential College Students in Connecticut During the 2020-2021 Academic Year

Abstract

Key Points Question What is the association between COVID-19 testing and case rates on residential college campuses? Findings In this cohort study of 18 Connecticut colleges and universities, infrequent COVID-19 testing of residential students was not associated with decreased transmission, whereas testing of residential students twice per week was associated with decreased transmission during the 2020-2021 academic year. Meaning Findings suggest that twice-weekly COVID-19 testing of residential students may serve as an effective infection mitigation strategy at colleges and universities.

Effect of mandating vaccination on COVID-19 cases in colleges and universities

“…Overall, this report provides the first empirical evidence for several past simulation studies ( Paltiel & Schwartz, 2021 ) showing that achieving a high vaccination rate is an important policy tool for the administrations of institutions of higher education. While institutions of higher education have benefited from several other policies ( Larson et al, 2020 ; Nourinejad et al, 2021 ) including higher test frequencies ( Paltiel, Zheng, et al, 2020 ; Schultes et al, 2021 ), and it is difficult to separate the effect of the mandates from other policies in correlational studies, our difference-in-differences method controls for the historical trends for each university and isolates Fall 2021 policy changes from other policies that were in place before Fall 2021. Moreover, it is likely that institutions with such high vaccination levels had a lower risk perception, leading to more interactions; thus, our estimation points to a lower bound effect of mandating vaccination.…”

COVID-19 Prevention at Institutions of Higher Education, United States, 2020 – 2021: Implementation of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions

“…IHEs that re-opened for the 2020 -2021 academic year reported implementation of a more streamlined set of NPIs across the US and globally, which included distancing in the learning environment, use of facemasks, and COVID-19 testing protocols (6, 8, 9, 23-28). However, much of the currently available literature is focused on the implementation of few or individual NPIs rather than a comprehensive evaluation of layered NPIs in COVID-19 prevention (25,(27)(28)(29). However, although most currently available studies are limited to for use under a CC0 license.…”

“…This article is a US Government work. It is not subject to copyright under 17 USC 105 and is also made available dense congregate settings such as IHEs, reasons for limited compliance with testing recommendations should be elucidated and addressed (27,46,47).…”

Discussing the Effect of Students' Crisis Awareness on Emotion During the COVID-19 Pandemic From the Perspective of Trust

“…The survey revealed the highest percentage for hope (13%), followed by engagement (10%) and wellbeing (8%). Olivia Schultes et al ( 2021 ) pointed out the importance of having positive emotions to successfully navigate a new environment, build meaningful relationships, and reach a person's maximum potential. Huang and Chen ( 2020 ) mentioned that teachers' emotional awareness and unconditional positive concerns can predict students' adaptation to schools, trust, and emotions.…”

“…All students stay in school, and the process of learning continues in school. Olivia Schultes et al ( 2021 ) found that more frequent testing would increase the case rate but could better prevent the spread of infection. They also mentioned that campuses are not closed groups, so even if there is a vaccine, schools should continue testing students for COVID-19 and implement strategies to slow the spread of infection.…”