Portland’s Delayed Launch of COVID-19 Testing for Students Is Part of Wider-Spread Failures to Test

How long does it take to deliver COVID-19 tests to kids in Portland Public Schools in a pandemic? Six months, it seems.

Beginning early next month, Portland students whose parents give approval will receive COVID tests weekly, regardless of whether they have symptoms. Called surveillance testing, the program will launch with elementary school-age children, for whom vaccines have not yet been approved.

It’s designed to provide greater protection against spread of the disease and greater confidence among parents and teachers that other COVID-19 precautions are working.

Despite funding from the federal government, the launch of surveillance testing comes six months after the feds allocated the money.

As recently as last month, state and local officials expressed skepticism of the cost benefits of testing all students, symptomatic or not. And last week, Portland Public Schools officials and board members pointed fingers elsewhere to explain the slow pace of getting the program up and running.

But Portland Public Schools didn’t have its first conversations with Oregon Health & Science University about the program until Aug. 27, less than a week before schools reopened.

PPS attributes the delay in part to when information was provided to the district by OHSU and the Oregon Health Authority.

“Following OHA’s outreach to school districts about this opportunity, OHSU had a number of informational sessions that districts could attend,” says district spokeswoman Karen Werstein. “PPS attended two of them and set up a meeting a few days after the informational session to discuss specifics.”

OHA, in turn, says it was waiting on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and that federal funding was dedicated only for this school year.

Ultimately, a month after school began, PPS has moved forward with a plan to launch testing at all K-5 and K-8 schools—beginning with the youngest students, who cannot yet be vaccinated.

Vaccines, masks and social distancing all provide protection from the coronavirus, but school districts throughout the state and country have failed to get adequate testing up and running.

Some districts outside Oregon proceeded with surveillance testing before the school year, while others have not opted for such testing at all. Los Angeles has embarked on a massive testing program to keep outbreaks at bay.

Here’s how Portland compares with other major West Coast school districts.