Say Yes! Home Testing Program Helps Hawai‘i Residents Identify COVID-19 Early

When one of her customers who took part in the Say Yes! COVID Test program tested positive for COVID-19, Keri Oyadomari, Pharmacist and Director of Clinical Services at 5 Minute Pharmacy, knew right then that the program was valuable to the community.

“A patient had called after receiving a set of home testing kits that day,” Oyadomari said. “They had reported mild symptoms and decided to use one of the kits. We were able to counsel and educate them over the phone on the next steps. They would not have tested had they not had the kits due to the mild nature of their symptoms.”

The Say Yes! COVID Test pilot program, which kicked off Sept. 20, provided free, at-home COVID-19 test kits to 125,000 Oʻahu residents; eligibility was based on ZIP code. The nationwide program, which has now been completed locally, encouraged participants to use the tests twice a week for four weeks, regardless of symptoms, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help keep the community healthy. Oʻahu was among the first communities in the country to be selected for the program.

The nationwide Say Yes! COVID Test pilot program, which has now been completed locally, distributed COVID-19 test kits for home use directly to residents starting in September. The program encouraged participants to use the tests twice a week for four weeks, regardless of symptoms, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help keep the community healthy.

“Patients are so grateful and appreciative that there are free resources available for the community,” Oyadomari said. “We have had such positive feedback from everyone who was given a set of kits. Trying to find home kits online is pricey and inventory is low. Having these free test kits available to the communities provides convenience and increases access.”

About 640,000 tests were delivered through online orders and another 360,000 test kits were distributed through community partners including the Honolulu Fire Department, Hawai‘i Department of Health public health nurses, independent pharmacies, and non-profit organizations.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the O‘ahu program was considered the most successful pilot site for its distribution and participation.

“It’s absolutely thrilling,” said Dr. Bruce J. Tromberg, Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which headed the project for the NIH. “[We’re] proud to see Hawaiʻi on the leading edge of this, understanding the opportunity for the community. It’s an incredibly positive sign. We haven’t seen a response like this anywhere.”

The Say Yes! COVID Test initiative is a cooperative effort between DOH, NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), community partners, test manufacturer Quidel, and healthcare technology company CareEvolution.

Rapid, self-administered testing has the potential to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 that occurs when people are infected, but don’t yet have symptoms. Testing twice a week increases chances of identifying COVID-19 infection and isolating early.

A group of community partners reviewing the program said that besides knowing if you had contracted COVID-19, the home testing program had other benefits including:

• Home test kits have sparked conversations in homes that have differing opinions about the severity of the pandemic
• People are more apt to test with home test kits and they allowed for a greater peace of mind, especially around getting together with elderly or vulnerable loved ones
• Allowed for more education and conversation within the community
• A pharmacy that distributed the tests said it was easier for patients to test in the comfort of their home in familiar surroundings

“Some of our patients are part of care homes,” said Oyadomari. “For the caregiver to get a patient to a testing site requires a lot of logistics, including transportation and scheduling of back-up caregivers for the remainder of the patients at the home. Home testing increases access in reducing these kinds of logistics, as well as providing an extra comfort of privacy.”

Researchers will use publicly available data from the program to determine if local testing efforts slowed the spread of COVID-19.

While the Say Yes! COVID Test program has concluded, individuals can visit https://hawaiicovid19.com/testing-isolation-quarantine/ to learn more about testing options.