Massachusetts child care programs will get free rapid COVID tests later this month, Gov. Charlie Baker announces
Originally Appeared in MassLive
By Alison Kuznitz
January 19, 2022
Licensed Massachusetts child care programs can start receiving COVID-19 rapid antigen tests later this month, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Wednesday afternoon in a growing effort to protect the state’s youngest residents from the surging omicron variant.
The new “Testing for Child Care” protocol will allow children ages 2 and older, plus staff, to undergo rapid COVID testing for five days after being deemed a close contact in a coronavirus exposure, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care said. As long as they test negative, kids and staff are allowed to stay in person at child care settings.
The approach is largely similar to the state’s Test and Stay program that’s been used this school year by K-12 leaders to avoid lengthy quarantine periods and classroom disruptions for unvaccinated students.
The Baker administration on Wednesday also rolled out a symptomatic COVID testing program, which will likewise allow students who test negative to remain at care centers.
“We expect the rapid test program will be a game changer for many folks in early education and care, as the vast majority of the kids they serve are under the age of 5 and therefore can’t be vaccinated at this point in time,” Baker said during a press briefing at Ellis Early Learning in Boston. “We know it can be extremely disruptive for so many parents, caregivers and kids to have to pull kids out care, especially without knowing knowing whether or not, in fact, they’re testing positive or not.”
Rapid testing — and negative results — eliminates the need for quarantine, Baker said. In some instances, entire classrooms in child care centers have needed to quarantine after being identified as close contacts, Baker said.
Neighborhood Villages, a nonprofit that’s partnered with Massachusetts to conduct rapid pooled testing, will deliver rapid tests directly to registered child care programs beginning the week of Jan. 31, state officials said. Programs, either center-based or family child care homes, can sign up on a rolling basis — but they face a Jan. 24 deadline in order to receive the following week’s shipment of rapid tests.
The Baker administration is allowing child care centers to opt in any or all of three testing options, including the rapid cohort testing initiative for staff and children who were exposed to the virus. Child care facilities can also use weekly pooled testing for consenting staff and children ages 3 and older, as well as the symptomatic rapid testing option to “quickly identify and isolate positive cases or confirm negative cases and keep children in care.”
Pooled testing has been administered in child care centers for nearly a year, officials said. During last year’s surge, the testing protocols at Massachusetts child care centers managed to reduce the positivity rate from 3% to 0.1% — which was “well below the community rates at the time,” said Sarah Siegel Muncey, the co-president and chief innovation officer at Neighborhood Villages.
“This will help ensure kids are protected, parents can work, and our critical, critical workforce can feel safe as they care for our children,” Muncey said of the new multi-pronged testing approach. “Testing and early (education) is one of the most effective investments we can make right now to keep child care open and the economy going.”
Early Education Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, echoing the governor’s remarks, called the evolving testing programs a “game changer” to protect staff, children and families. She said there are more than 7,500 child care providers across Massachusetts.
“We know that as we move through COVID-19 recovery, ensuring parents can rely on child care is an essential part of getting back to normal,” Aigner-Treworgy said at the Ellis Early Learning Center. Testing is “one of the most important ways that we can ensure that our educators are safe and healthy, and that we can provide the kinds of high quality care that families really depend on to make sure that their children can learn and grow, and that they can go work.”
Aigner-Treworgy said rapid tests will be administered based on family needs, including either at a child’s home or at the child care center at the start of the day.
The new testing options for child care facilities comes one day after the Baker administration announced a major overhaul to COVID protocols in K-12 public schools.
School districts can choose to receive rapid COVID antigen tests from the state — and distribute one test kit for students and educators on a biweekly basis, starting later this month. Each kit contains two tests.
State officials who are recommending — but not yet mandating — this alternative testing program say it will replace contacting tracing and Test and Stay. Schools will still be required to participate in symptomatic or pooled testing, even with the weekly rapid testing.
Baker on Tuesday said Test and Stay has been “massively successful,” but he emphasized it is time to pursue a new mitigation tactic that will allow school nurses to focus their efforts on positive cases.
The governor said 99% of more than 503,000 COVID tests administered through the Test and Stay program returned negative results. The data signals “in-school spread is extremely rare,” Baker said.
Baker, who last week announced Massachusetts secured 26 million rapid testsfor schools and childcare centers, said these tests will now provide students with an added layer of protection.
Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said schools must take take advantage of evolving tools that were not available earlier in the pandemic, including the growing supply of rapid tests and and pediatric COVID vaccination.
“This is something that is just better for our kids,” Riley said on Tuesday. “The reality is we know know the best place for kids is in school. And we want to do everything we can to make sure that kids can stay in school, but also keep them as safe as possible.”