Monitoring for COVID-19 by universal testing in a homeless shelter in Germany: a prospective feasibility cohort study
Lindner et al.
The finding, in our words
In a Berlin homeless shelter, weekly self-collection of saliva or nasal/oral swabs for COVID-19 PCR achieved 89–94% retention over three weeks, but required 48 person-hours per round and repeated assistance. Residents found nasal/oral swabs easier than saliva, and language barriers were the main obstacle to participation. This shows that decentralised screening in vulnerable populations is feasible but demands flexible, supported protocols and resource planning.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Capillary blood self-collected with the VAMS device showed 100 per cent agreement with serum for detecting SARS-CoV-2 S RBD antibodies in participants with known past infection, and saliva showed slightly lower but high agreement; agreement was good to almost perfect in those without known antibodies, and most participants found finger prick easy while half found the microsampler easy, supporting decentralised serosurveillance.
An online service that mailed saliva self-sampling kits to 4623 GBMSM and trans women achieved a 67.5% return rate, detected 2.45% HIV prevalence with 100% linkage to care, and was recommended by 98% of participants, proving feasibility for decentralised screening.
Self-collected saliva without additives showed comparable diagnostic performance to nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 detection, with 87.6% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity. The sample remained stable for 72 hours and was deemed acceptable by both patients and staff, supporting its use in decentralised, patient-centric screening programmes.
Pooled RT-qPCR of self-collected saliva from 824 asymptomatic employees identified two SARS-CoV-2 positives; one positive was detectable only by an amplification trend without a Ct value. A survey of 471 participants revealed that most would accept regular screening only if free or low-cost, supporting pooled saliva testing as a rapid, efficient, and inexpensive method for frequent large-scale decentralised screening.
Self‑collected nasal/oral swabs and saliva showed 77–87 per cent agreement with healthcare worker collection for SARS‑CoV‑2 detection by RT‑PCR, rising to 89 per cent for swabs when viral load was high. This demonstrates that self‑sampling can reliably support early COVID‑19 diagnosis in decentralised settings, reducing burden on healthcare workers.