How “pooled testing” can help keep schools open
Several schools are currently trying out “pooled testing,” which occurs when multiple swabs are tested collectively. This approach lets schools monitor many students and teachers who may be asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus while preserving scarce testing supplies. The economic argument for pooling is that it can keep schools open and enable more parents to get back to work. But there are drawbacks, too. On today’s show: how one school is implementing pooled testing. Plus, the risk of inflation from COVID-19 financial relief, House Democrats’ plan to ease child care burdens and a conversation with the writer-director of “Miss Juneteenth.”
The story in this episode about testing in schools has been updated. For more information, visit the episode page at marketplace.org.