Pasadena Unified Resumes Full COVID-19 Testing For Students

PASADENA, CA — The Pasadena Unified School District resumed full COVID-19 testing for students Monday following a production backlog last week that caused a shortage of testing kits.

Superintendent Brian McDonald said the district received several thousand kits from its supplier, and he doesn't expect any further disruptions to PUSD's testing program.

The shortage occurred Sept. 3 after an expected shipment of testing kits failed to show up, McDonald said earlier this month. The district scrambled to get an additional 600 kits and prioritized which students would be tested.

Priority was given to students who exhibited symptoms of COVID-19 or had been in contact with someone with the virus. Unvaccinated students participating in athletics were also given priority, according to McDonald.

The district has tested unvaccinated students and staff members for COVID-19 every week since late August as part of its efforts to curb the virus’s spread in the classrooms.

Pasadena school officials also required any student 12 or older to get the COVID-19 vaccine or face weekly screening tests.

Teachers at Pasadena Unified were also required to be vaccinated under a mandate issued by Gov. Gavin Newson in August requiring every educator in California to get the jab.