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<p>The testing programme is well-established in education providers. As of 19 January
2022, over 109.5 million tests (including household bubble and support bubble tests)
have been completed in all education providers including higher education (HE). This
includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Over 31.1 million tests completed for primary schools
and nurseries</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Over 72.4 million tests completed for schools
and colleges</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Over 4.1 million tests completed for HE institutions</li></ul><p>
</p><p>Lateral flow device (LFD) tests have been widely and successfully used to detect
asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. A recent report has shown that the accuracy of LFD tests
was more than 80% effective at detecting any level of COVID-19 infection and likely
to be more than 90% effective at detecting the most infectious people at the point
of testing.</p><p> </p><p>On 26 November 2021, every single nursery, school, college,
and HE institution was invited to order supplies of lateral flow tests. They will
have received their allocation of the 31 million tests, in advance of their pupils,
students and staff returning, through a dedicated supply channel.</p><p> </p><p>Vaccinating
children should help to reduce the need for children to have time off school and should
reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 within schools. Modelling by the Department
of Health and Social Care published in September 2021 suggested that a single dose
of the vaccine could reduce absences due to confirmed cases of COVID-19 by 33% among
healthy 12 to 15-year-olds. This is assuming a 60% uptake. All eligible staff and
students aged 12 and over are encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including
boosters, where eligible.</p><p> </p>
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