In new NIH-funded research, a team led by Dr. Brian McGarry from the University of Rochester and Dr. Michael Barnett from Harvard University looked at data collected and reported by more than 13,000 skilled nursing facilities during the pandemic. The team examined rates of staff COVID-19 testing during three main periods between November 2020 and March 2022: before vaccines became available; after vaccines were widely distributed but before the Omicron wave; and during the Omicron wave. Tests included rapid antigen testing done on site and PCR testing, which had to be sent to an outside lab. The researchers compared the facilities’ rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths with their frequency of staff testing for COVID-19. Results were published on March 23, 2023, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
