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vaccination

COVID-19 Roundup: At-Home Testing, CDC Cleaning Guidance

Rapid, At-Home Tests1

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized 2 at-home COVID-19 tests—the Quidel QuickVue At-Home over-the-counter COVID-19 test and 3 configurations of the Abbott BinaxNOW test—for over-the-counter use, as well as the BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 for use in the point-of-care setting with a prescription.

While they were previously authorized to test individuals with symptoms of COVID-19, the tests are now authorized for use in asymptomatic people as well. 

Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidance2

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated guidance for cleaning and disinfecting facilities both for routine use and for when someone has become sick.

Among the recommendations:

In areas without known infection, clean high-touch surfaces at least once daily with soap or detergent and disinfect using US Environmental Protection Agency-approved items when necessary. More frequent cleaning may be necessary in areas with high transmission rates, with low mask use, and in areas occupied by those at increased risk of severe illness.

In areas where a sick person has been, areas that they occupied should be cleaned and disinfected. The area should be closed off until after cleaning and well ventilated. If more than 3 days have passed since the person was present, cleaning beyond routine cleaning is not necessary.

Vaccine Effectiveness3

Vaccination with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines is associated with a 90% reduction in infections, according to a study that used regular testing to measure the impact of vaccines among a population of essential workers.

The participants included 3950 essential workers from 8 largely urban US locations. Of these, 2479 received 2 vaccine doses, 477 received only 1 dose, and 994 were unvaccinated. Data was collected from December 14, 2020, through March 13, 2021.

Of 172 detected infections, 161 had occurred in unvaccinated participants. The rate of infections among those who had received only 1 dose of a vaccine was 0.19 infections per 1000 person days. Among those who received both doses, it was 0.04 per 1000 person days.

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. FDA. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA continues to advance over-the counter and other screening test development. News release. March 31, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-continues-advance-over-counter-and-other-screening-test-development
  2. CDC. Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/disinfecting-building-facility.html#anchor_1617551661760. Updated April 5, 2021. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  3. Dyer O. Covid-19: Moderna and Pfizer vaccines prevent infections as well as symptoms, CDC study finds. Published online April 1, 2021. BMJ. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n888