Health & Wellness

During the past year, the number of calls to the COVID-19 & COVID-19 Vaccine hotlines has decreased. The NYSDOH released a notification to communicate that the operation of the Department’s COVID-19 and Vaccine Hotlines will end at 5:00 pm on Friday, March 29, 2024.

The New York State Department of Health’s COVID-19 hotline [1-888-364-3065] and Vaccine hotline [1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829)] will no longer be in service effective 5:00 pm on Friday, March 29, 2024. Additionally, on March 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance for respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently changed its guidance regarding people who test positive for COVID.

Previously the CDC recommended that people who test positive for COVID isolate for five days. Updated guidance provided by the CDC now states that people who test positive for COVID no longer need to isolate if they have been fever-free for 24 hours AND their symptoms are improving.  In addition, the CDC now recommends that people who test positive for COVID wear a mask for 5 days (after they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their symptoms are improving).  For more information, please visit About Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You’re Sick | Respiratory Illnesses | CDC

NOTE: Some Access Bio’s CareStart™ COVID-19 Antigen Home Test kits from the BOCES 2 inventory have reached their extended expiration date. There are likely to be a number of this brand of test kits still in the BOCES 2 inventory available to staff and/or parent/guardians of BOCES2 students. PLEASE CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES BEFORE USING ANY OF THE TEST KITS.

As an example:
Lot #CP22B59 have an extended expiration date of 10/31/2023. The expiration date has not been extended further. The test kits should not be used.

The link below can be used to search test kits by their lot number to determine/confirm current expiration dates.
Access Bio CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Test - Shelf-Life Extension (fda.gov)

Health Advisory Disposal of Unused Expired COVID-19 Rapid Tests.pdf

Disposal of Unused Expired COVID-19 Rapid Tests
• Based on current definitions of RMW, DOH, in consultation with DEC, has determined that unused rapid COVID-19 tests that have expired are not considered to be RMW and can be disposed into the normal waste stream as solid waste.
• In some instances, manufacturers have had the expiration dates of their rapid COVID-19 tests extended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to disposal of any given test product, you should contact the test manufacturer or go to the manufacturer’s web site to determine if the expiration date has been extended by the FDA.
• When disposing unused rapid COVID-19 tests that have expired, it is strongly recommended that this is done in a manner that limits access to the discarded tests and disposal occurs just prior to removal by your waste management company.
• When disposing of used rapid COVID-19 tests, users should follow the manufacturers’ instructions.
• Since the material looks like medical waste be sure to first check with your solid waste transporter and the disposal facility as to whether they will accept the waste.

Recently the New York State Department of Health released a newsletter with updated COVID information for schools. You can access that newsletter here.

In addition, the Department of Health has  released a letter to parents with updated recommendations regarding at home/over-the-counter testing for both symptomatic individuals and asymptomatic individuals who have been exposed to COVID.