Dr. Thomas Denny, chief operating officer at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, says an extensive testing program is only one part of the university's ability to limit the spread of coronavirus on campus during the fall semester.
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY IN RALEIGH >>> AS FAMILIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY PREPARE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS TO COME HOME, THERE'S A SELECT FEW THAT MAY HAVE LESS REASON TO WORRY. SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEIR STUDENTS ATTEND DUKE UNIVERSITY. WE HAVE TRACKED CASES ALL SEMESTER. THIS IS WHERE THE NUMBERS STAND TONIGHT. 1374 CASES THIS YEAR, NC STATE AT 1333. THEN THERE IS DUKE, OFFICIALED REPORTED JUST 217 CASES AMONG STUDENT AND STAFF. THAT'S 16% OF THE CASES OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS WHY IS DUKE IN A BETTER POSITION THAN THE OTHER UNIVERSITIES? IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS, TESTING. HERE'S TO EXPLAIN IS DR. THOMAS DENNING, HE'S A LEAD RESEARCHER ON THAT STUDY THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME >> GETTING TO STUDENTS TO BUY IN IS CRITICAL. TALK ABOUT DUKE'S APPROACH AND HOW IT WAS RECEIVED INITIALLY. >> THEY TOOK A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH EARLY ON AND PROVIDED LEADERSHIP THAT BEHAVIOR IS THE KEY. WE LIKE TO FOCUS ON TESTING. THE STUDENTS AND THE PEOPLE ON CAMPUS ARE FOLLOWING ALL OF THE GOOD PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES, SOCIAL DISTANCING, WASHING HANDS. THAT'S THE KEY COMPONENT TO REDUCING TRANSMISSION AND YOU LAYER ON TOP OF THAT, THE ABILITY TO TEST. THAT HELPS YOU MONITOR HOW WELL YOUR MEASURES ARE BEING CARRIED OUT ON CAMPUS >> WE KNOW DUKE ENJOYED THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME PARITY. HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO SHARE NOTES WITH OTHER UNIVERSITIES? >> WE HAVE CLOSE COLLEAGUES WITH ALL OF THE UNIVERSITIES LOCALLY AND WE HAVE FOLKS LOOKING TO BRING UP MORE AGGRESSIVE TESTING PROGRAM FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER. THEY VISITED US RECENTLY. WE HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR MANY YEARS AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HELP TRANSLATE ANY INFORMATION WE HAVE ON INNOVATION WE HAVE APPLIED TO HELP THEM DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO. OUR SIZE MAY NOT FIT ALL INSTITUTIONS THEY NEED TO LOOK, SURVEY THE EXPERTISE THEY HAVE AND MAKE ACAPTIONS. >> IF WE CAN PUT THAT GRAPHIC BACK UP, YOU TESTED OVER 160,000 TIMES HERE WITH JUST 217 CASES. IF YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF SUCCESS, EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT THIS. WHY HAVEN'T THE OTHER SCHOOLS DID THE SAME THING OR DO YOU THINK THIS APPROACH WON'T PRODUCE THE SAME RESULTS AT OTHER SCHOOLS? >> I THINK EVER, EVERY INSTITUTION OR EVERY ENVIRONMENT IS A BIT DIFFERENT. I DO BELIEVE THAT AGGRESSIVE TESTING IS A KEY COMPONENT TO HELPING TO REDUCE TRANSMISSION. WHAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR STUDY IS THAT 51% OF THE STUDENTS THAT WE PICKED UP IN OUR RECENT TESTING PROGRAM, 51% OF THE STUDENTS TESTED POSITIVE IN THE PROGRAM, THEY'RE WALKING AROUND FEELING FINE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE NO ILLNESS, THEY'RE INFECTED, YOU HAVE NO REASON FOR THEM TO QUARANTINE, BUT THEY'RE WALKING AROUND THE CAMPUS AND IF THEY'RE NOT FOLLOWING SOCIAL DISTANCING PATTERNS, THEY COULD BECOME SUPER SPREADERS AND SEE INFECTION ON CAMPUS AN INVESTING TESTING PROGRAM IS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE MEASURES. >> IT IS WORTH NOTED THAT UNC PLANS TO TEST REGULARLY NEXT SEMESTER WE HOPE THEY HAVE THE SAME SUCCESS YOU HAVE HAD ON THE DUKE CAMPUS AND WISH YOU
