It’s mid-November which means it is once again time for the common cold to reemerge. During another pandemic year, this is all the more concerning. Even at the best of times no one enjoys the piercing cacophony of coughs, sniffles and sneezes in a packed classroom. And when many of the symptoms overlap with those of COVID-19, it is especially difficult to endure.
The University of Oregon requires weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated people, but vaccinated people face no similar requirements. This policy is a denial of the possibility of infection — albeit less serious — within the fully vaccinated community.
Around 80% of the world’s population possess a phenomenon known as the optimism bias, according to most estimates compiled by Cell Press. This bias makes individuals believe the decisions they make will not have negative outcomes, which can be frighteningly applied to our own community at UO.
Optimism bias can lead people to think nothing bad will happen to them. It is an excuse for everything from not wearing a seatbelt to not taking COVID-19 prevention measures. The current misconception is that those who are fully vaccinated need not get regularly tested for the virus.
Vaccines are vital protection against the coronavirus. However, to better protect the future of our communities, we must execute additional safeguards regardless of the vaccination rates.
The best way to protect all members of our community is through frequent testing. “Regular testing remains a key component of the pandemic response strategy to identify these cases,” according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “If someone has a known exposure to someone with COVID-19, the CDC recommends that they should be tested regardless of vaccination status.”
Fully vaccinated or not, we are all in an unsafe and unknown environment. The best way UO students can defend themselves and others from the virus is by getting tested regularly.
The university can aid in destigmatizing the fear of the testing process by making testing data more readily available for students.
UO Media and Communications Manager Saul Hubbard said UO’s Monitoring and Assessment Program can carry out 10,000 tests per day. In accordance with community needs, there are around 5,000 weekly tests administered.
The broader Eugene community can also use this testing service. According to Hubbard, typically, there are around 2,250 scheduled appointments available per week. On top of that, there are around 500 walk-in patients per week.
Hubbard also said the number of people who seek walk-in tests varies widely week to week. Most individuals who come in during regular business hours can be accommodated for, but Hubbard said it is helpful if people come in earlier during the day because that reduces the lengths of the line during closing hours.
While it’s nice to know the UO testing system is so robust, this type of information is nowhere to be found when reading the university’s weekly COVID-19 updates. Including this information along with the vaccination rates would help to assuage the fears that surround getting tested.
An increase in COVID-19 testing, especially among the vaccinated, would aid in the detection and prevention of future breakthrough cases.
In Lane County, there was a 23.1 rate of breakthrough cases on Nov. 10. The case rate for breakthrough infections is calculated by the total number of cases on a given day per 100,000 unvaccinated individuals. There is a lag of about 10 days between the time it takes for a case to be identified, immunization and variant data. This means the data represented is what was known at that time, though it has most likely changed by now.
COVID-19 testing resources at UO are highly accessible for the Eugene community. Several locations, such as the Matthew Knight Arena and the Ford Alumni Center, offer free testing to UO students and surrounding community members. Beginning in 2021, the UO MAP testing program opened up to the whole community. It has been able to offer weekly testing at surrounding K-12 schools through a community partnership.
Individuals experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms or those who know they have come in contact with the virus should seek testing resources from the University Health Services either online or by phone at 541-346-2770.
For the sake of both you and your classmates’ peace of mind, use the university’s resources for COVID-19 testing. It is free, quick, accessible and brings a bit more assurance to an already distressed world.
