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Temperature Screening of Healthcare Personnel Is Ineffective in Controlling COVID-19
Zaw Maung1, Marissa Kristensen, Bridget Hoffman
1Division of Occupational Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California (Dr Maung and Dr Jacobson); San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, California (Ms Kristensen and Ms Hoffman); Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California (Dr Jacobson).
Objective:
Our aim was to describe the effectiveness of employee temperature screening at a public hospital in San Francisco during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
An estimated 6000 health care personnel (HCP) underwent daily screening before entry to campus. Logs of failed employee entrance temperature screenings from March 2020 through March 2021 were reviewed.
Results:
From March 2020 through March 2021, only one employee, who reported no symptom that could bar their entry to work, had an elevated temperature on screening. On re-check with an oral thermometer, that individual's temperature was normal.
Conclusions:
While the rationale to continue temperature screening may be rooted in beliefs it will increase employee reporting of symptoms or exposures, our results indicates that such screening of HCP at large US hospitals has no utility in detecting COVID-19 or controlling its transmission.
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