CDC researchers see little evidence that in-person school causes COVID-19 infection

(Reuters) – Studies in the United States and abroad found little evidence that schools were spreading COVID-19 infections, showing a “ path forward ” to in-person teaching, said researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) Tuesday. .

The risk of getting COVID-19 in schools and whether it is possible to learn in person or stick to online classes is a hot topic of debate in many countries, including the United States.

While there was some evidence of school transmission, “the preponderance of the available evidence from the fall school semester was reassuring,” the researchers said in an opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network. (bit.ly/3a69ZOn)

“As many schools in some parts of the US and internationally have reopened for personal education, school-related cases of COVID-19 have been reported, but there is little evidence that schools have made a meaningful contribution to greater community transfer,” the said. CDC.

The authors pointed in part to a new CDC study of rural schools in Wisconsin, where student mask wearing was high. The incidence of COVID-19 in the 17 primary and secondary schools was 37% lower than in the broader community, with no infections in the school staff.

“Given the findings of our dataset, with proper precautions such as distance and wearing face coverings, it seems unlikely that adult school staff will contract COVID-19 in the classroom,” study author Amy Falk, of the Aspirus Hospitals and Clinics, said in a reply by email.

CDC scientists in JAMA said school closures could affect academic progress, mental health, and access to essential services.

They said mitigation measures such as universal mask use, social distance, and ventilation were key to preventing infection.

In the Wisconsin study, only seven of the 191 cases (3.7%) identified among 5,530 students and staff in the period from Aug. 31 to Nov. 29, 2020, were associated with school transfer, all in college students, researchers reported.

Social distance was required and mask wearing was reported in more than 92%. Classes were conducted in stable cohorts with both lunch and classes taking place indoors. However, no systematic COVID-19 screening was conducted in the schools or the community, and student mask wearing was charted by only a few teachers, according to the Wisconsin study, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report of the CDC.

The researchers found widespread virus transmission in the surrounding community during the study period, with 7% to 40% of Wood County COVID-19 tests showing positive results.

The COVID-19 incidence among students and staff in the study translated into 3,453 cases per 100,000 in schools, versus 5,466 per 100,000 in the broader community.