Kids need more testing, says state health official

ALBUQUERQUE — More children in New Mexico are contracting COVID-19, and low testing rates in schools mean fewer cases are counted.

This week, health and education officials called for more testing of children. Some promised more testing options in the coming weeks.

School-aged children in the state are tested for COVID-19 at half the rate of adults. Fewer participate in routine testing. Around 1 in 10 school-aged kids test positive for the virus when they are tested, double the rate of adults.

Some schools have shut down temporarily this semester because of infections.

“In order to be confident that we’re really knowing what’s going on in schools, we do need more testing,” said David Scrace, who heads New Mexico’s health and human services departments, on Wednesday.

Education officials have aspired for schools to test 25 percent of unvaccinated students each week.

Virtually no district is anywhere close to that, according to data released by the New Mexico Public Education Department from the spring semester through the end of last month.

Last week, the vast majority of districts received test results from 1 percent or fewer of their students, according to data reported by school districts to the education department.

Albuquerque Public Schools, which serves 1 in 5 New Mexico children, said that it does not track voluntary student testing and doesn’t collect testing data citing logistical challenges, according to district spokeswoman Monica Armenta.

The district has focused instead on vaccine drives for students 12 and up who are eligible for the shots.

It’s likely an undercount, but children 17 years old and younger still account for around 20 percent of cases, according to the Department of Health.

A similar portion was seen last spring when schools allowed in-person schooling again.

More testing means identifying more cases and sending home those who are infected as well as close contacts for about a week of observation.

At a school board meeting in Santa Fe this week, school leaders said they’ve applied for approval from the Department of Health to operate a testing site on campus, hoping they can cut down delays in test results and offer convenient testing for students.