What is Pooled Testing?

Pooled testing combines samples from up to ten (10) individuals and performs a COVID-19 PCR test on that group. If the results of the pooled test indicate that any of the samples are positive, follow-up tests are given to each individual in the pool to determine who tested positive.

Combining samples from multiple people into a single test offers significant cost and resource savings without sacrificing the accuracy or speed of individual testing. Tufts’ research indicates that positivity results are identical to individual testing when the infection rate in the population is below 10%. Pooled testing is being used successfully by schools and other organizations around the world.