COVID Updates: BA.2 Variant, Contact Tracing, Asymptomatic Testing, Second Boosters

April 1, 2022

To the Saint Louis University community, 

This week, I write with updates to several of our COVID-mitigation protocols, following this week’s transition to mask-optional spaces.  

This email includes updates related to: 

• The Omicron BA.2 variant;
• Campus COVID-19 infections;
• Seeking testing when symptomatic;
• Asymptomatic testing to include students who live off-campus; 
• Contact tracing notification procedures;
• New booster guidance from the CDC.  

BA.2 in the U.S. and St. Louis

Less than three months after the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant raced through the U.S., a new Omicron sublineage variant, BA.2., is quickly increasing in prevalence and now causes more than half of all COVID-19 infections. The B.A.2 variant is even more transmissible than BA.1, the Omicron variant we first saw in St Louis. Data from the state indicates that BA.2 is in St Louis.   

We continue to monitor the spread of this variant and local conditions carefully. We will update our COVID-related protocols, as needed. 

COVID-19 infections and illness on campus

We are seeing an increase in student COVID-19 cases following spring break and the loosening of our restrictions, though overall campus infection rates still remain low. We praise and appreciate our students who quickly sought out testing when they recognized their symptoms could be allergies, flu, or COVID. 

In general, our students infected with COVID-19 report having mild symptoms similar to a cold. A few students, however, have reported having more severe flu-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, and headache, and these symptoms are lasting 5 days or longer. It is possible that some of these students have both Influenza and COVID-19, as is being seen at other regional universities.  

Locally, Washington University is currently experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 cases on their campus following their spring break and loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.  

Our campus data do not yet show that we need to implement more restrictive protocols, but we are tracking that data closely. We know that masking is an effective tool to prevent disease spread. As we carefully monitor conditions over the next few weeks, please consider what you can voluntarily do to help us maintain a low rate of infections on campus. We encourage you to mask up indoors (including in classes, labs, and learning spaces) to safeguard your health and our community’s well-being. 

Be aware that we may require a temporary pivot to mandatory masking if our infection rates warrant it.   

Seek testing if you have any COVID-like symptoms

First, it is important for your well-being to seek testing. The Student Health Center will test you for both COVID-19 and Influenza, or you can ask your medical provider to do the same. If Influenza is diagnosed in a timely way, the Student Health Center or your medical provider may be able to provide treatment that reduces the length and severity of illness. Regardless of your diagnosis, medical professionals can support your well-being and recovery. 

Second, testing is an essential way for us to limit the spread of COVID-19. Besides WashU, other universities (including Cornell University) have reported recent increases in COVID-19 infections on their campuses. Along with our asymptomatic testing plans, your diligence in seeking testing when symptomatic can help us continue to identify cases and contain disease spread as much as possible.  

If you experience COVID-like symptoms, follow these steps:

• If you live on campus, do not leave your living space. If you live off campus, do not come to campus to work or study.
• Contact Student Health (314-977-2323), Employee Health (314-257-8400), or your primary care provider so that you may be screened by a health professional who will determine if you need to be tested before coming to campus or class.
• Wait until you get the okay to return to campus or class before you do so.   

Asymptomatic testing to include students who live off campus

As we mentioned in our March 25 communication, we extended the weekly random sample asymptomatic testing of 10% of our residential students through Friday, April 8. This week our team met to analyze the surveillance and diagnostic testing results so far this semester to determine whether asymptomatic testing should continue, be revised, or be stopped.  

Although we have only identified one case of COVID-19 through our asymptomatic surveillance testing program since late February — out of more than 800 tested — the team decided that it was prudent to continue surveillance testing because:

• We recently moved to being a mask-optional campus;
• The pandemic epidemiology is shifting once again due to BA.2, and is affecting some college campuses;
• We have experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases since Spring Break; and 
• When we reviewed our spring semester infection data closely, we noticed that our off-campus undergraduate students have accounted for three of every four cases among our student population. All were symptomatic infections or close contacts who had a known exposure.  

Up to this point, we have not included off-campus students in our weekly surveillance testing of asymptomatic students. Moving forward, our asymptomatic testing plan will be revised to include a mixture of undergraduate students living both on and off campus. (Students who are designated as only studying remotely will not be included.) 

We believe this revised plan will help us to better understand the potential spread of COVID-19 on our campus based on our own student data. 

As always, asymptomatic surveillance testing is required. All students selected for surveillance testing will be notified by email on Friday of the week before testing must take place. Testing dates and times in the Simon Recreation Center will be included. Students also have the option of obtaining a PCR test at a local pharmacy and providing documentation of their test results to our testing staff. Details will be provided in the email to those students randomly selected for asymptomatic testing.  

Contact tracing notification procedures

Contact tracing will continue for students who test positive for COVID-19. We are also resuming contact tracing for employees. When universal masking was in place, there was no need to trace contacts in classroom and lab settings. But now that masks are optional for all non-healthcare campus areas, including educational spaces, our processes will include the following: 

• During contact tracing interviews, individuals will be asked about who they sat next to and/or interacted with in classes or at events. At this point in the semester, we hope that many students will be able to identify their classmates by name. Close contacts will receive a “contact tracing” email, which will include required testing and other details.
• If the individual who tests positive for COVID-19 cannot identify who they sat next to or interacted with at either an event or in a class/lab, the entire class or attendee list (if it exists) will receive a “notification of potential exposure” email. This email will tell the recipient that they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in either a class or at an event. Neither the event nor the class will be specified; only the date of the potential exposure will be provided. The email will include a recommended window of time in which the recipient is encouraged to get tested, based on when the potential exposure may have taken place. 
• Notification of potential exposure emails will strongly encourage those who have a vaccine exemption or who are at high-risk of severe disease to get tested. 
• If you receive a notification of potential exposure email, it does not mean that you were by definition a close contact of an infected person. Testing is not required, as it is when you are a confirmed close contact. However, we want to err on the side of caution and notify potential exposures, because the risk of transmission increases in a mask-optional environment.   

New booster dose guidance and availability on campus

The State of Missouri has recently affirmed the CDC’s recommendation and FDA’s authorization to allow certain individuals the ability to receive a second COVID-19 mRNA booster dose. Those who are eligible are those who received their first booster dose at least 4 months ago and: 

• Are 50 years of age or older
• Are 12 years of age or older, and are moderately to severely immunocompromised             

 At this time, we are not requiring our eligible community members to receive a second mRNA booster dose. However, we highly encourage everyone to stay up-to-date on vaccination, especially those at high-risk for severe illness or those who live with or provide care to a high-risk individual.  

Our campus vaccination clinics will administer second booster doses to those who qualify. To sign up for a booster dose at SLU, you can use this link to find a date that works best for you. Booster doses are also widely available in the greater community. Please follow this link to schedule an appointment to receive your booster at a community clinic near you. 

As always, anyone eligible is welcome to get their vaccine at our campus vaccination clinics. This includes our employees, students, and volunteers, as well as their family, friends, or other community members.

 Stay safe and be well. 

Terri Rebmann, Ph.D., RN, CIC, FAPIC
Special Assistant to the President
Director, Institute for Biosecurity
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
College for Public Health and Social Justice