With 2020 coming to a close, businesses are looking ahead to 2021 and evaluating how they can stay open while keeping their employees and patrons safe. In an effort to resolve this seemingly open question, just this week, the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) unveiled an innovative online mechanism that may give businesses the tools they need to choose a COVID-19 testing strategy for the year ahead. This mechanism, developed by a branch of the NIH called the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (“NIBIB”), will act as a COVID-19 Testing Impact Calculator (the “Calculator”) and will show how different approaches to testing and other mitigation efforts (e.g., mask use, social distancing, and contact tracing) may curb the spread of COVID-19 within a particular organization.
The Calculator is the first online tool in the U.S. that will provide businesses with purportedly clear guidance on risk-reducing behaviors in an effort to help them re-open and stay open. And a special perk—the Calculator is free.
- Where was the Calculator developed?
The Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology at Massachusetts General Hospital and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created the Calculator to model the costs and benefits of COVID-19 testing strategies for individual businesses.
- What can users expect?
Users of the Calculator will enter a few specifics about their business, such as which safety and prevention methods are already in place (e.g., whether mask wearing and social distancing are required, and whether contact tracing is or will be utilized). Users can even adjust details such as whether mask-less meetings or dining will be allowed, or how big group settings are expected to be.
The Calculator then models four different COVID-19 testing methods, which include onsite and lab-based methods, and calculates the number of people that should be tested each day. It will provide the estimated cost of each testing option and will outline the tradeoffs in the speed and accuracy of each kind of available test. Each user will get a customized scenario for surveillance testing.
- How to get started?
The Calculator is available now at https://whentotest.org/.
We hope tools like the Calculator will assist businesses in remaining resilient in the face of challenges posed by COVID-19. As research institutes and regulators continue to adapt to these unprecedented times, we recommend that businesses continue to stay apprised of new technology and new guidance related to COVID-19. Should you have any questions related to testing during COVID-19 or any of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate to reach out to the health care attorneys at Reed Smith.