The Minnesota Department of Health announced their youth testing campaign Wednesday, which includes the recommendation for families to get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks until end of school year.

While they acknowledge that number of people getting vaccinated for the virus continues to increase across the state, they want to remind Minnesotans that COVID-19 testing remains an important tool for limiting disease impacts and ending the pandemic as quickly as possible.

They believe that if families get tested every two weeks through the end of the school year, communities will be able to quickly spot and contain COVID-19 hot spots, which would allow kids to finish the school year and participate in activities.

“Over the past few months, the number of students attending in-person classes has significantly increased, with thousands more expected to return to the classroom in coming weeks,” said MDH Assistant Commissioner Dan Huff. “With the rate of infection in decline, Governor Walz has adjusted the dials so children and young adults can resume youth sports and other activities. To protect this progress, we need to use all the tools at our disposal. That’s why we are asking parents to make regular testing a priority for their families. Testing can help spot a single case early and prevent it from becoming many cases.”

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This Minnesota Department of Health recommendation is for all families who have youth returning to school, youth sports, or extracurricular activities.  While it is not a requirement, health officials say regular testing complements other safety measures already in place, such as masking and social distancing.

Families and students can expect to receive plenty of online resources and guidance in support of this new youth testing campaign.

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While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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