On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece
BackgroundScreening programs that pre-emptively and routinely test population groups for disease at a massive scale were first implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in a handful of countries. One of these countries was Greece, which implemented a mass self-testing program during 2021. In contrast...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1352238/full |
| _version_ | 1797272584733065216 |
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| author | Samuel Gilmour Spyros Sapounas Kimon Drakopoulos Patrick Jaillet Gkikas Magiorkinis Nikolaos Trichakis |
| author_facet | Samuel Gilmour Spyros Sapounas Kimon Drakopoulos Patrick Jaillet Gkikas Magiorkinis Nikolaos Trichakis |
| author_sort | Samuel Gilmour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundScreening programs that pre-emptively and routinely test population groups for disease at a massive scale were first implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in a handful of countries. One of these countries was Greece, which implemented a mass self-testing program during 2021. In contrast to most other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), mass self-testing programs are particularly attractive for their relatively small financial and social burden, and it is therefore important to understand their effectiveness to inform policy makers and public health officials responding to future pandemics. This study aimed to estimate the number of deaths and hospitalizations averted by the program implemented in Greece and evaluate the impact of several operational decisions.MethodsGranular data from the mass self-testing program deployed by the Greek government between April and December 2021 were obtained. The data were used to fit a novel compartmental model that was developed to describe the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece in the presence of self-testing. The fitted model provided estimates on the effectiveness of the program in averting deaths and hospitalizations. Sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate the impact of operational decisions, including the scale of the program, targeting of sub-populations, and sensitivity (i.e., true positive rate) of tests.ResultsConservative estimates show that the program reduced the reproduction number by 4%, hospitalizations by 25%, and deaths by 20%, translating into approximately 20,000 averted hospitalizations and 2,000 averted deaths in Greece between April and December 2021.ConclusionMass self-testing programs are efficient NPIs with minimal social and financial burden; therefore, they are invaluable tools to be considered in pandemic preparedness and response. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:31:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d94af54ee36a411bab93d81a6ea96336 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:31:27Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-d94af54ee36a411bab93d81a6ea963362024-03-06T04:37:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652024-03-011210.3389/fpubh.2024.13522381352238On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in GreeceSamuel Gilmour0Spyros Sapounas1Kimon Drakopoulos2Patrick Jaillet3Gkikas Magiorkinis4Nikolaos Trichakis5Operations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesNational Public Health Organisation, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Data Sciences and Operations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesOperations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesDepartment of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceOperations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesBackgroundScreening programs that pre-emptively and routinely test population groups for disease at a massive scale were first implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in a handful of countries. One of these countries was Greece, which implemented a mass self-testing program during 2021. In contrast to most other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), mass self-testing programs are particularly attractive for their relatively small financial and social burden, and it is therefore important to understand their effectiveness to inform policy makers and public health officials responding to future pandemics. This study aimed to estimate the number of deaths and hospitalizations averted by the program implemented in Greece and evaluate the impact of several operational decisions.MethodsGranular data from the mass self-testing program deployed by the Greek government between April and December 2021 were obtained. The data were used to fit a novel compartmental model that was developed to describe the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece in the presence of self-testing. The fitted model provided estimates on the effectiveness of the program in averting deaths and hospitalizations. Sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate the impact of operational decisions, including the scale of the program, targeting of sub-populations, and sensitivity (i.e., true positive rate) of tests.ResultsConservative estimates show that the program reduced the reproduction number by 4%, hospitalizations by 25%, and deaths by 20%, translating into approximately 20,000 averted hospitalizations and 2,000 averted deaths in Greece between April and December 2021.ConclusionMass self-testing programs are efficient NPIs with minimal social and financial burden; therefore, they are invaluable tools to be considered in pandemic preparedness and response.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1352238/fullnon-pharmaceutical interventionsepidemic modellingCOVID-19 testingmass screeningcompartmental models |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Gilmour Spyros Sapounas Kimon Drakopoulos Patrick Jaillet Gkikas Magiorkinis Nikolaos Trichakis On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece Frontiers in Public Health non-pharmaceutical interventions epidemic modelling COVID-19 testing mass screening compartmental models |
| title | On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece |
| title_full | On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece |
| title_fullStr | On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece |
| title_short | On the impact of mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 through self-testing in Greece |
| title_sort | on the impact of mass screening for sars cov 2 through self testing in greece |
| topic | non-pharmaceutical interventions epidemic modelling COVID-19 testing mass screening compartmental models |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1352238/full |
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