Stanford to finish Shade COVID-19 testing program, nonetheless present speedy assessments

Stanford will finish the Shade COVID-19 testing program, however will proceed to offer free speedy antigen assessments, in keeping with an e mail despatched to the Stanford neighborhood on Wednesday by James Jacobs, the Government Director of Vaden Well being Companies and Chair of the Stanford College Public Well being Steering Committee and Wealthy Wittman, the Medical Director of the Stanford College Occupational Well being Heart.

For college, employees and postdoctoral students, Shade testing will finish on March 24, on the finish of the winter quarter. For college students, Shade testing will finish on June 18, on the finish of the spring quarter. The College at present has an total COVID-19 optimistic take a look at charge of 0.83% per day and 9.68% per week.

The Shade COVID-19 testing program enabled members of the Stanford neighborhood to make use of free PCR assessments at designated pick-up and drop-off websites. Underneath the brand new system, each vaccinated and unvaccinated people is not going to be required to check.  This variation in coverage comes because the college prepares for the conclusion of the winter quarter and the beginning of the spring quarter in April.

Stanford officers proceed to observe the charges of COVID-19 on campus to tell the testing program. In keeping with the e-mail, the College collects knowledge about COVID-19 prevalence by wastewater evaluation collected from greater than 150 buildings on campus.

Though the Shade testing program will terminate, the Occupational Well being Heart and Vaden Well being Companies can order COVID-19 PCR testing in sure circumstances, in keeping with the e-mail. Moreover, speedy antigen assessments, which offer COVID-19 take a look at outcomes to customers in quarter-hour, will stay out there at designated pick-up websites.

“Fast testing stays a dependable solution to detect people who’re infectious with COVID, and it has been our major methodology for figuring out instances on campus since these assessments grew to become broadly accessible,” Vaden Well being Companies Government Director James Jacobs and Occupational Well being Heart Medical Director Wealthy Wittman wrote within the e mail to the neighborhood.

Some college students say that they fear that this focused method could also be deceptive to those that aren’t required to bear routine testing, and consider that testing ought to proceed for all people to maintain campus protected.

“My largest concern with this transformation in coverage is that college students and college might be lulled additional right into a false sense of safety when COVID remains to be a difficulty that’s nonetheless impacting individuals on and off campus,” Kim Ngo ’26 stated. “I personally really feel like it will be safer to maintain the present coverage of required testing [regardless of vaccination status] till the tip of the yr since testing will not be a troublesome job and is definitely worth the small effort it takes to forestall spreading COVID.”

Different college students argue that the brand new coverage is an inexpensive method to testing and that it strikes a steadiness between security and particular person freedom.

“It doesn’t change the prevailing coverage that a lot as a result of earlier than the brand new coverage most individuals received’t do routine testing except they’ve signs,” stated Yifei Cheng ’26. “It’s not an enormous change.”