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More than one in 10 students and more than a third of school staff with Covid continued to suffer from symptoms four weeks after infection, according to new data that could shed light on the extent of the long Covid in the schools in England.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 12.3% of high school students and 35.7% of staff with a confirmed Covid infection reported persistent symptoms, including weakness, fatigue and a shortness of breath four weeks later.
Among those with persistent symptoms, 9.4% of students and 15.5% of staff said the impact was so severe that their ability to carry out daily activities was significantly reduced.
Half of the students said they were able to attend school normally despite persistent symptoms, while a similar proportion of staff (46.6%) said their symptoms reduced their ability to perform activities at work ” a little ”or“ not at all ”(43.2%).
One-third of students with persistent symptoms attended more than half of school, while 5.6% attended less than half. Among staff, 60.9% with persistent symptoms did not have to be absent, 15.9% were absent for five days or less, and 3.3% were absent from work for 61 days or more.
The ONS findings were based on survey responses from approximately 3,500 students and 1,600 staff. Symptoms were self-reported rather than clinically diagnosed and the ONS cautioned that the data should not be taken as representative of all schools in England.
“The results should be interpreted with caution because it is not known how many people would have experienced these symptoms even if they had not been infected with Covid-19. The 20% survey response rate also means that the results may be subject to response bias, ”the report says.
The survey is part of the Schools Infection Study (SIS), Public Health England (PHE), ONS and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), which interviewed school staff and students in July.
Fiona Dawe, deputy director of SIS, said the new data reflected results from previous studies which also showed adults were more likely than young people to report persistent symptoms. “Capturing the experiences of students and staff after infection will be a critical part of the pandemic response as we move into fall and winter,” she said.
Geoff Barton, secretary general of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “These findings again reinforce the importance of the Covid vaccination program, including 12 to 15 year olds, to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus in schools. and colleges.
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