Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 1;19(1):202.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-022-01927-7.

Evaluation of self-administered antigen testing in a college setting

Sarah C Tinker  1 , Jessica L Prince-Guerra  2   3 , Kelly Vermandere  4 , Jenna Gettings  4   5 , Cherie Drenzik  4 , Gary Voccio  4 , Tonia Parrott  6 , Jan Drobeniuc  2 , Tonya Hayden  2 , Stephen Briggs  7 , Debbie Heida  7 , Natalie Thornburg  2 , Lisa C Barrios  2 , John C Neatherlin  2 , Sabrina Madni  2 , Catherine N Rasberry  2 , Kenneth D Swanson  2 , Azaibi Tamin  2 , Jennifer L Harcourt  2 , Sandra Lester  2 , Lydia Atherton  2 , Margaret A Honein  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of self-administered antigen testing in a college setting

Sarah C Tinker et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: The objective of our investigation was to better understand barriers to implementation of self-administered antigen screening testing for SARS-CoV-2 at institutions of higher education (IHE).

Methods: Using the Quidel QuickVue At-Home COVID-19 Test, 1347 IHE students and staff were asked to test twice weekly for seven weeks. We assessed seroconversion using baseline and endline serum specimens. Online surveys assessed acceptability.

Results: Participants reported 9971 self-administered antigen test results. Among participants who were not antibody positive at baseline, the median number of tests reported was eight. Among 324 participants seronegative at baseline, with endline antibody results and ≥ 1 self-administered antigen test results, there were five COVID-19 infections; only one was detected by self-administered antigen test (sensitivity = 20%). Acceptability of self-administered antigen tests was high.

Conclusions: Twice-weekly serial self-administered antigen testing in a low prevalence period had low utility in this investigation. Issues of testing fatigue will be important to address in future testing strategies.

Keywords: Adolescent; COVID-19; Institutions of higher education (IHE); Quidel QuickVue at-Home OTC COVID-19 Test; SARS-CoV-2; Self-administered antigen test; Viral culture; Young adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline of serial self-administered COVID-19 antigen testing investigation
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Baseline serology results for SARS-CoV2 antibodies and self-administered antigen test and endline serology results among participants who were baseline negative. Ab, antibody test; Ag, antigen test; PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Distribution of total number of self-administered COVID-19 antigen tests reported per participant during the investigation period stratified by baseline antibody status. b Total number of self-administered COVID-19 antigen tests by week of the investigation stratified by baseline antibody status
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Christie A, Brooks JT, Hicks LA, Sauber-Schatz EK, Yoder JS, Honein MA, CDC COVID-19 Response Team Guidance for implementing COVID-19 prevention strategies in the context of varying community transmission levels and vaccination coverage. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(30):1044–1047. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7030e2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Leidner AJ, Barry V, Bowen VB, Silver R, Musial T, Kang GJ, Ritchey MD, Fletcher K, Barrios L, Pevzner E. Opening of large institutions of higher education and county-level COVID-19 incidence—United States, July 6–September 17, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(1):14–19. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7001a4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lederer AM, Hoban MT, Lipson SK, Zhou S, Eisenberg D. More than inconvenienced: the unique needs of U.S. college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Educ Behav. 2021;48(1):14–19. doi: 10.1177/1090198120969372. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guidence for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/colleges-universitie....
    1. Szablewski CM, Chang KT, Brown MM, Chu VT, Yousaf AR, Anyalechi N, Aryee PA, Kirking HL, Lumsden M, Mayweather E, et al. SARS-CoV-2 transmission and infection among attendees of an overnight camp—Georgia, June 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(31):1023–1025. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6931e1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types