Test & Trace Corner: Lessons for Public Health

COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Under 5 Years of Age

In New York City, 98.3% of adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and that number continues to expand as more people become eligible. More than 5 million adults have completed their primary series of vaccines. Earlier in June 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized emergency use of… Continue Reading ›

The Impact of Take Care and the GetFood Program: A Retrospective

As of June 27, 2022, deliveries of “Take Care” packages and food through Take Care and the GetFood program ended. Two years since their inception, Take Care and its GetFood program have worked hand-in-hand to provide the best possible resources for New Yorkers isolating or quarantining at home. These services helped to keep those at… Continue Reading ›

Analysis of COVID-19 Transmission in New York City Public Schools from October to December 2021

In an effort to monitor the spread of COVID-19, New York City agencies receive reports of positive cases through multiple data systems that help to identify school-based contacts in collaboration with teachers and administrators who work at those schools. In the fall of 2021, New York City experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases due to… Continue Reading ›

Expanded Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses for Children 5-11 Years Old

More than 4.8 million children ages 5 through 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 15,000 have been hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As numbers of cases fluctuate throughout the country, a booster dose will be useful to safely help enhance protections against… Continue Reading ›

Closing the Gap with At-Home Testing Distribution

At-home testing allows for a higher testing capacity when there is a higher demand, and for COVID test results to be known at a faster rate when an individual cannot make it to a testing site. As cases of COVID-19 ebb and flow, testing remains one of the best tools to trace the spread of… Continue Reading ›

Voices of Contact Tracers: Supporting NYC in its Greatest Time of Need — Part 2

In last week’s Voices of Contact Tracers post, we introduced you to some of the NYC Test & Trace Corps contact tracers who were critical to the city’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, this dedicated team provided their fellow New Yorkers with guidance for quarantining and isolating and connected them… Continue Reading ›

Voices of Contact Tracers: Supporting NYC in its Greatest Time of Need — Part 1

The NYC Test & Trace Corps has been a vital resource to New York City throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Corps’ Trace pillar, the largest citywide contact tracing program in the nation, launched in June 2020 and, by its end in April 2022, had reached more cases than any other jurisdiction reporting these figures. In… Continue Reading ›

Second Booster Doses for Older and Immunocompromised Individuals

On March 29, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. On the same date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended additional boosters. Following approval from both the… Continue Reading ›

The Impact of Take Care Hotels: A Retrospective

After two years, the isolation hotel program has come to a close. Hotels provided a safe place to isolate or quarantine for over 33,000 New Yorkers and visitors to New York City. The program’s work has contributed greatly to Test & Trace’s commitment to helping all New Yorkers isolate safely. One of the most common… Continue Reading ›

Voices of Test & Trace Corps: Street Health Outreach & Wellness

By Chanté Solomon and Nicky Smith Two years into the pandemic, COVID continues to require an “all hands-on deck” approach, causing a strain on resources, and exacerbating existing health disparities. For instance, from July 2019 to June 2020, the mortality rate for homeless New Yorkers – a group that already faces major barriers to accessing… Continue Reading ›