Abstract
Although COVID-19 vaccines are globally available, waning immunity and emerging vaccine-evasive variants of concern have hindered the international response and transition to a post-pandemic era. Testing to identify and isolate infectious individuals remains the most proactive strategy for containing an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. We developed a stochastic, compartmentalized model to simulate the impact of using Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assays, rapid antigen tests, and vaccinations on SARS-CoV-2 spread. We compare testing strategies across an example high-income country (the United States) and low- and middle-income country (India). We detail the optimal testing frequency and coverage in the US and India to mitigate an emerging outbreak even in a vaccinated population: overall, maximizing testing frequency is most important, but having high testing coverage remains necessary when there is sustained transmission. A resource-limited vaccination strategy still requires high-frequency testing to minimize subsequent outbreaks and is 16.50% more effective in reducing cases in India than the United States. Tailoring testing strategies to transmission settings can help effectively reduce disease burden more than if a uniform approach were employed without regard to epidemiological variability across locations.
【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination, India, variants of concern, Transmission, RT-PCR, Spread, polymerase chain reaction, COVID-19 vaccines, Rapid antigen tests, Coverage, Testing, Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, COVID-19 outbreak, outbreak, International, epidemiological, United States, disease, Frequency, Vaccinations, Vaccination strategy, waning immunity, reverse transcriptase, Chain Reaction, reaction, chain, individual, transition, Variability, help, The United States, mitigate, approach, country, effective, identify, example, assays, subsequent, reducing, reduce, sustained, 【제목키워드】 Population, SARS-CoV-2 testing, outbreak,