COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations averted by case investigation and contact tracing in the United States
Authors: Rainisch Gabriel , Jeon Seonghye , Pappas Danielle , Spencer Kimberly D. , Fischer Leah S. , Adhikari Bishwa B. , Taylor Melanie M. , Greening Bradford , Moonan Patrick K. , Oeltmann John E. , Kahn Emily B. , Washington Michael L. , Meltzer Martin I. 
Published: November 2021

Importance

Evidence of the impact of COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing (CICT) programs is lacking. Policymakers need this evidence to assess its value.

Objective

Estimate COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations averted nationwide by US states’ CICT programs.

Design

We combined data from US CICT programs (e.g., proportion of cases interviewed, contacts notified or monitored, and days to case and contact notification) with incidence data to model CICT impacts over 60 days period (November 25, 2020 to January 23, 2021) during the height of the pandemic. We estimated a range of impacts by varying assumed compliance with isolation and quarantine recommendations.

Setting

US States and Territories

Participants

Fifty-nine state and territorial health departments that received federal funding supporting COVID-19 pandemic response activities were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 22 states and 1 territory reported all measures necessary for the analysis. These 23 jurisdictions covered 42.5% of the US population (140 million persons), spanned all 4 census regions, and reported data that reflected all 59 federally funded CICT programs.

Intervention

Public health case investigation and contact tracing

Main Outcomes and Measures

Cases and hospitalizations averted; percent of cases averted among cases not prevented by vaccination and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (other NPIs).

Results

We estimated 1.11 million cases and 27,231 hospitalizations were averted by CICT programs under a scenario where 80% of interviewed cases and monitored contacts, and 30% of notified contacts fully complied with isolation and quarantine guidance, eliminating their contributions to future transmission. As many as 1.36 million cases and 33,527 hospitalizations could have been prevented if all interviewed cases and monitored contacts had entered into and fully complied with isolation and quarantine guidelines upon being interviewed or notified. Across all scenarios and jurisdictions, CICT averted a median of 21.2% (range: 1.3% – 65.8%) of the cases not prevented by vaccination and other NPIs.

Conclusions and Relevance

CICT programs likely had a substantial role in curtailing the pandemic in most jurisdictions during the winter 2020-2021 peak. Differences in impact across jurisdictions indicate an opportunity to further improve CICT effectiveness. These estimates demonstrate the potential benefits from sustaining and improving these programs.

KEY POINTS

Question

What were the health impacts of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing programs (CICT) in the US?

Findings

By combining CICT program data from 22 states and 1 territory with mathematical modeling, we estimate CICT averted between 1.11 to 1.36 million cases and 27,231 to 33,527 hospitalizations over 60 days during the height of the pandemic (winter 2020-21). The upper estimate assumes all interviewed cases and monitored contacts complied with isolation and quarantine guidelines, while the lower estimate assumes fractions of interviewed cases and monitored or notified contacts did so.

Meaning

CICT programs likely played a critical role in curtailing the pandemic.