Student Health urges self-testing ahead of break

Student Health is urging students to pick up at-home antigen test kits ahead of spring break to test themselves before and after travel. The recommendation comes as the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it approved the first at-home test kit for both coronavirus and influenza. Student Health plans to closely monitor the distribution of the kit, but has no current plans to alter the distribution of antigen tests on campus, Chief Student Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said in a briefing with the Daily Trojan Tuesday.

According to the FDA, the single-use test is administered with a self-collected nasal swab and is intended for use by people aged 14 or older, or by adults collecting samples from children aged 2 or older. Results are usually provided in 30 minutes. However, Lucira Health, the company that developed the at-home test kits for coronavirus and flu, filed for bankruptcy after it said the FDA unexpectedly protracted the emergency-use authorization process for its product. It remains unclear when a combined test kit — the first of its kind — will be widely available to consumers.

“We’re not making any immediate change in our distribution of antigen tests,” Van Orman said. “It is something we could potentially make, kind of a change here as that comes on market.”

Van Orman said that having self-tests widely available would be especially helpful to those at high risk for coronavirus or influenza, allowing them to test early on to treat the virus and reduce the chance of spreading it to others.

“There is a reason to actually treat them with antivirals particularly early on and that can reduce their risk of having subsequent bad health conditions. It can also shorten the course of disease,” Van Orman said. “The other thing about both the influenza virus and the [coronavirus] is they’re really important infection control issues.”

Treatment for influenza is ideally administered within 24 hours of virus incubation. By the time most people test themselves for flu, Van Orman said, it is too late for treatment, which is why influenza medication is rarely administered.

Van Orman said she hopes the advent of coronavirus and influenza testing kits will help ease the lag between virus incubation and self-testing and reduce hospitalization rates for both diseases.

In addition to antigen kit testing, Van Orman urged students to beware of foodborne illnesses and practice safe sex.

“We see a lot of students come back with traveler’s diarrhea from Mexico and other locations … we also know a lot of students might have new partners during spring break, so making sure they’re carrying condoms with them and to make sure they’re tested when they get back,” Van Orman said. “Get caught up on your sleep. Lots of spring break reminders to just kind of be aware of things you could do to protect your health.”