NFL’s test-to-release strategy helped vaccinated players shorten isolation time
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The NFL’s COVID-19 test-to-release protocol, implemented in December during the omicron surge, helped NFL players and staff members shorten their isolation time, according to a study published in MMWR.
The strategy, detailed in a Dec. 16 memo from NFL officials, allowed fully vaccinated players who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 to “test out” of a required 10-day isolation period if they were asymptomatic for at least 24 hours. Players were required to be tested every day and could be tested up to three times a day.
According to the report, the NFL recorded an average of 336 cases per week between Dec. 12 and Jan. 1 — more than 10 times the weekly average from the previous 3 months. From Dec. 14 to 19, testing confirmed 218 cases, including 201 among fully vaccinated people. Among the samples sequenced, 97% came back as the omicron variant.
Christina D. Mack, PhD, vice president of epidemiology and clinical evaluation for the health care data company IQVIA, and colleagues conducted the analysis on behalf of the NFL with the support of the CDC.
The NFL initiated its test-to-release protocols in response to the omicron surge. More than 96% of the NFL players and staff were fully vaccinated at the time of the study, according to Mack and colleagues, including more than 99% of staff members and more than 94% of players.
Among the people who tested positive during the study period, 46% received a negative test result or a cycle threshold value of at least 35 — two targets of the test-to-release strategy — 6 days after being diagnosed, concluding 5 days of isolation. By day 10, this figure increased to 84% (n = 146).
Overall, 75% (n = 130) tested to return from isolation before 10 days of isolation, with a median time of 7 days (interquartile range = 5-8 days), Mack and colleagues reported.
“In this report describing test-to-release from isolation strategies in an occupational sport setting and RT-PCR test results among fully vaccinated persons with [the] omicron variant [of SARS-CoV-2], approximately one half had a negative result or a Ct value [of at least] 35 on or before day 6, concluding 5 days of isolation,” they wrote.
“Although a positive RT-PCR test result does not necessarily indicate infectiousness, these data indicate that persons with COVID-19 should continue taking precautions, including correct and consistent mask use, for a full 10 days after symptom onset or after initial positive test result if they are asymptomatic.”
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