States ramp up contact tracing efforts as COVID-19 delta and omicron cases rise

Washington D.C — As more states report cases of the omicron variant, the World Health Organization says contact tracing will be a key to containing it.

States have been contact tracing since the pandemic started, but those efforts have had to evolve along the way.

For example, contact tracing apps used early in the pandemic have faded away because they did not prove effective enough.

Now experts say more states depend on individuals for help with the process.

The National Academy for State Health Policy is a nonpartisan forum that has been tracking those efforts.

Based on their research, states used three major ways of contact tracing: state and local resources, partnering with other agencies, or using contractors.

Executive director Hemi Tewarson said states had the most success when contact tracers were familiar to the communities.

“I think it really has depended on the ability of those contact tracers to be persuasive, frankly, and get people to contact them back. That’s the key part, you have to have a two-way street of communication,” she said.

This summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded millions of dollars to states for contact tracing, especially in rural areas.

Around the same time, the delta variant started surging, and states had to adjust those efforts because they couldn’t reach everyone who tested positive.

“Let’s think about how we make sure that where we think there could be a potential outbreak where we think there’s a higher risk, congregate care settings, schools, etc. We’re going to make sure we focus on from a state perspective contacting tracing those people,” Tewarson said.

As more people use at-home COVID-19 test kits, Tewarson said some states are now giving people clear directions about contact tracing within their social circles.

“I think we have to have trust in people that they’re going to want to do the right thing around their families and friends who’ve they’ve been exposed to if they’ve had COVID,” said Tewarson.

Some states are also ramping up contact tracing within schools as another tool to keep them open all year.

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