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Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Soni, A; Herbert, C; Baek, J; Shi, Q; Marquez, J; Harman, E; Kheterpal, V; Nowak, C; Suvarna, T; Lin, H; Heetderks, W; Zai, A; Kibbe, W ...
Published in: medRxiv
April 2, 2022

IMPORTANCE: Wide-spread distribution of diagnostics is an integral part of the United States’ COVID-19 strategy; however, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of this intervention at reducing transmission of community COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the Say Yes! Covid Test (SYCT!) Michigan program, a population-based program that distributed 20,000 free rapid antigen tests within Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan in June-August 2021, on community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. DESIGN: This ecological study analyzed cases of SARS-CoV-2 from March to October 2021 reported to the Washtenaw County Health Department. SETTING: Washtenaw County, Michigan. PARTICIPANTS: All residents of Washtenaw County. INTERVENTIONS: Community-wide distribution of 500,000 rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 to residents of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. Each household was limited to one test kit containing 25 rapid antigen tests. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: Community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, as measured through 7-day average cases, in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti was compared to the rest of Washtenaw County. A generalized additive model was fitted with non-parametric trends for control and relative differences of trends in the pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention periods to compare intervention municipalities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to the rest of Washtenaw County. Model results were used to calculate average cases prevented in the post-intervention period. RESULTS: In the post-intervention period, there were significantly lower standardized average cases in the intervention communities of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti compared to the rest of Washtenaw County (p<0.001). The estimated standardized relative difference between Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti and the rest of Washtenaw County was -0.016 cases per day (95% CI: -0.020 to -0.013), implying that the intervention prevented 40 average cases per day two months into the post-intervention period if trends were consistent. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Mass distribution of rapid antigen tests may be a useful mitigation strategy to combat community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially given the recent relaxation of social distancing and masking requirements.

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medRxiv

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Publication Date

April 2, 2022

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United States
 

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Soni, A., Herbert, C., Baek, J., Shi, Q., Marquez, J., Harman, E., … McManus, D. (2022). Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.26.22272727
Soni, Apurv, Carly Herbert, Jonggyu Baek, Qiming Shi, Juan Marquez, Emma Harman, Vik Kheterpal, et al. “Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan.MedRxiv, April 2, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.26.22272727.
Soni A, Herbert C, Baek J, Shi Q, Marquez J, Harman E, Kheterpal V, Nowak C, Suvarna T, Lin H, Heetderks W, Zai A, Cohen-Wolkowiez M, Corbie-Smith G, Kibbe W, Gerber BS, Hafer N, Barton B, Broach J, McManus D. Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan. medRxiv. 2022 Apr 2;

Published In

medRxiv

DOI

Publication Date

April 2, 2022

Location

United States