Alabama Is Reopening Universities Its Own Way. Now Comes the Test.

Pooled testing can be useful when most results are expected to be negative. It is often used to screen donated blood for the presence of H.I.V. But U.A.B. is among the first academic labs in the United States to develop a pooled testing method for the coronavirus.

This semester, U.A.B. also plans to test a random sample of 4 percent of students and employees on a weekly basis, numbers that are based on the university’s virus model and may change depending on local conditions. Some other public health models have suggested that universities may need to test all of their students more frequently to control campus outbreaks, perhaps as often as every two days.

Separately, U.A.B. worked with the state’s public health department to develop a virus exposure alert app, using new software from Apple and Google. The app uses Bluetooth signals to detect users who come into close contact for more than 15 minutes. If users later tests positive for the virus, they can use the app to automatically notify other users who crossed their paths. The app is free for the public and optional for students.

Dr. Scott Harris, who oversees the Alabama Department of Public Health, said he hoped the virus alert app could help address a serious notification problem: Some Alabamians have ignored calls from human contact tracers.

Dr. Harris added that once the statewide student testing was completed, U.A.B. would have the capacity to test tens of thousands of other Alabamians. “It’s just helpful for our state in general to have this additional capacity that’s developed here locally and can be used locally,” he said.

Critics say the U.A.B. model has serious weaknesses. For one thing, they note, apps like Healthcheck can catch only people who have symptoms and are willing to disclose them. And as many as 40 percent of people with virus infections have no symptoms.

As for Alabama’s two-week window for student testing, they warn that many college students who test negative a week or two before their semester starts may develop the virus a few days later.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/business/alabama-uab-coronavirus-tests.html