Operation expanded testing

Details

• Alternative Title:
  OpET
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.). Division of Viral Diseases.
• Description:
  Updated July 27, 2022
  
  In addition to COVID-19 vaccination, physical distancing, and masking, testing is a safe and effective way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
  
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operation Expanded Testing (OpET) program increases access to testing nationwide, especially for communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  OpET coordinates with contractor-operator hubs to provide no-cost screening testing to K-12 schools, early care and education (ECE) programs, youth camps, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), under-resourced communities, and congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, domestic violence and abuse shelters, non-federal correctional facilities, and other qualified sites. Screening testing tests asymptomatic persons without recent known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2 for early identification, isolation, and disease prevention. OpET uses pooled testing in some regions to reduce the amount of time required to test large numbers of specimens, allowing for rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2 spread in the community. Pools testing positive will be automatically retested using RT-PCR tests on individual specimens to determine individual positives.
  
  OpET regional coordination hubs provide laboratory-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT), such as RT-PCR, with specimen collection supplies, shipping materials, laboratory testing, and results reporting. The recipient sites contribute staff to collect specimens; OpET sites that lack the capacity to support specimen collection and reporting can use federal funds to pay for staffing costs to administer testing and to collect and report testing data. CDC’s Operation Expanded Testing (OpET) will be performing tests through December 31, 2022.
  
  
• Content Notes:
  Questions -- OpET Success Stories.
• Subjects:
  Clinical Laboratory Techniques Coronavirus/isolation & Purification Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis COVID-19/diagnosis Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques Preventive Health Services Respiratory Tract Infections/diagnosis SARS-CoV-2/isolation & Purification
• Document Type:
  Webpage
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:ae6be1e3d4200e7c9759becabea1d02e403da02b5ac4088f01f5b474445b6576
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/119671/cdc_119671_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 496.99 KB ]