Reply to Children's National Hospital message to DCPS parents

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[quote=Anonymous]DO NOT Bring your healthy kid to us for return to school covid test screening !!

Mass email sent to ALL prior patients for whom CNMC has an email address. Apparently, CNMC is overwhelmed with parents demanding Covid testing for travel and return to school negative test proof:

Dear Patients and Families

In the last seven days, your Children’s National primary care locations, as well as our emergency departments, have experienced extremely high demand for COVID testing for children in the region.

The demand for testing will increase further due to the latest D.C. Public Schools’ direction to have every child tested on January 4, 2022 with an over-the-counter rapid antigen test and report a negative result to return to school.

We understand what a stressful and challenging time this is for parents and families. As we continue to commit to the best care for our community, we are reaching out to let you know that we must prioritize its services and testing for children who are ill with possible COVID-19 and need our medical attention. We cannot serve as the test center for children without symptoms who need to get tested because of suspected exposure, return to school requirements, travel and other situations that do not require medical treatment.

To help you navigate the current landscape as school reopens, we encourage you to follow these instructions in managing the care of your child:

1.Use over-the-counter rapid antigen tests when children need testing due to mild symptoms easily treated at home. Save visits to the doctor’s office or Emergency Department for situations where your child has more severe symptoms such as trouble breathing or shortness of breath, persistent chest pain or pressure, dehydration (no urine in 8 hours), weakness or difficulty waking up, bluish color to lips, skin or nail beds.

2. Follow your school system’s guidelines with regard to return-to-school after a COVID infection. Some schools, including District of Columbia public schools are distributing over-the-counter rapid antigen tests for this purpose. The CDC’s new rules for shortened periods of isolation after testing positive for COVID do not apply to K-12 schools and childcare centers.

3. Children under the age of 2 require a PCR COVID test administered by a physician or health department, as they are too young for over-the-counter rapid antigen tests.

We share this information to help you make decisions to manage your child’s health care needs. If you have not done so, please consider vaccination for your child age 5 and above. If they are eligible, please get a booster when the time is right, as this is particularly important for continued protection from Omicron variant. As always, continue to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

Here are several links to help you understand your local school district and health department guidelines.

D.C. Public Schools
[url]
Montgomery County, MD Public Schools

Prince George’s County Public Schools

Arlington County, VA Health Department

Charles County, MD Health Department

Fairfax County, VA Health Department

Howard County, MD Health Department

Montgomery County, MD Health Department

Prince George's County, MD Health Department

Washington, D.C., Health Department[/url]

[/quote]

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