Covid Rapid Antigen Test Kit Program
OPT-IN LETTER FOR FAMILIES AND STAFF - as of 1/24/2022
Dear PVCICS Community Members:
At PVCICS, keeping your students and staff safe and in school is our top priority.
We are writing to let you know, in accordance with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Public Health (DPH), our school is updating our COVID-19 Testing Program, effective January 24, 2022.
We are opting into an at-home Rapid Antigen Testing program that will increase testing of our participating students and staff, regardless of vaccination status. For more information about this update to the statewide testing program, please click here.
The at-home Rapid Antigen Testing program will begin during the week of January 24th for staff and during the week of January 31st, 2022 for students. In addition to this new at-home antigen test option, we will continue with routine COVID safety checks (“pooled testing”) during the week.
As part of the new guidelines, we are discontinuing Test and Stay and contact tracing for in-school close contacts.
This new at-home Rapid Antigen Testing program is voluntary and only those who opt-in will receive test kits to take home. We strongly encourage you to fill out the form by January 28, 2022 to opt-in.
If you have questions, please contact your school’s nurses at healthoffice@pvcics.org.
COVID-19 Testing Programs in our Schools:
At-Home Rapid Antigen Testing on Thursdays. (Click here for the Rapid Antigen Testing opt-in form)
Routine COVID Safety Checks (“Pooled testing”) on Mondays (If you have not yet signed up, click here)
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Overview: At-Home Rapid Antigen Testing Program
About the Antigen Test Kit: iHealth is a 15-minute at-home FDA-approved rapid antigen test. There are two tests per kit so they will cover two weeks.
Opt-In: To participate, you must opt in by completing the online form in item #1 above. By opting in, you will agree to review the training materials for test administration, report positive test results to PVCICS, and administer the tests according to PVCICS’s guidelines.
Weekly: Every two weeks you will receive an iHealth at-home rapid test kit. Each kit contains two individual tests. Your student will administer one test each week specified in item #1 above.
Reporting Positive Test Results: If the results on an at-home antigen test are positive, you will inform the school of the positive result using the “submit test results” option of the school’s online form by clicking here. The school will keep the results confidential and will not make individual results public. In addition, it is strongly recommended that you inform your healthcare professional of the positive result.
Easy, Free, and Flexible: This test is administered at home (not at school), reducing the burden on school staff and time to administer tests and increasing your flexibility to do testing in the home for free.
How do I administer the test?
Click here for a full “how to” written guide in various languages
Click here for a video of an individual self-testing
How do I submit test results?
Submit Results: You must submit positive test results to PVCICS. Click here to submit positive test results.
Confidentiality: Positive test results are shared with the school for informational purposes only. Individual results will remain confidential, and they will never be made public.