The White House is distributing free COVID-19 tests to public schools in an effort to get ahead of a possible winter surge.
Flu season and increased holiday travel make health experts cautious, but UCSF epidemiologist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong says cases remain manageable.
“There’s certainly some parts of the country where (COVID cases are) going up. But I would say it’s not a generalized and universal phenomenon,” he told The Examiner.
Chin-Hong said cases were high last January and February, so he welcomes the Biden administration’s move to equip schools with test kits. The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it would distribute test kits to any public school upon request.
These free tests are meant to safeguard students, parents and staff throughout the 2023-24 school year, department assistant secretary Roberto Rodriguez said in a statement.
“These self-tests are easy to use and can play an important role in preventing the spread of COVID-19,” he said. “We encourage schools to make use of these.”
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As of press time, there were 28 hospitalizations due to COVID-19, according to The City’s COVID-19 dashboard, which updates weekly.
Cases remain low because of The City’s high vaccination rates, Chin-Hong said. Still, he recommends that parents get their children vaccinated against the flu and RSV once the vaccination becomes available. The RSV vaccination is only available to individuals aged 60 and older and women pregnant in their third trimesters.
Chin-Hong also recommends that any children who are sick should avoid other children six months and younger, as newborns and babies are more susceptible to serious illness.
“I’m not worried about kids getting seriously ill from COVID if vaccinated. But the only thing predictable about COVID is that it’s unpredictable,” he said. “With the one-two-three punch of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, when kids go back to school, they may be at risk of getting sick from (flu, RSV) or COVID-19.”
The San Francisco Unified School District, citing the Department of Public Health, is encouraging families to stay up to date on vaccinations. SFUSD has no mandate in place requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The school district is also advising students to stay home when sick.
The federal government will distribute free test kits to U.S. households upon request. Another round of ordering opened Nov. 20, making four more free tests per household available ahead of the holidays.
