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Teachers may play a bigger role in transmitting COVID-19 in schools than younger students, suggests a small new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the study, researchers investigated the transmission of COVID-19 in eight public elementary schools in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, between December 1, 2020 and January 22, 2021. Overall, approximately 2,600 students and 700 staff were in attendance. these six schools at the time.
During the study period, researchers identified nine clusters of COVID-19 cases involving a total of 13 educators and 32 students in six of the elementary schools. (A cluster has been defined as at least three related cases of COVID-19.)
In four of the groups, one educator was the “index patient,” or initial case, and one student was the index patient in one group. In the other four clusters, the index patient was not determined. Eight of the nine clusters involved probable transmission from teachers to students.
Two of the largest groups involved teacher-to-teacher transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which has likely occurred during in-person meetings or lunch breaks. The infected teachers then transmitted the disease to several students. Overall, these two groups were responsible for about half (15 of 31) of the school-associated cases in the study, not counting the index cases, the authors said.
Related: CDC issues new guidelines for safe school reopening
The results suggest educators were “at the heart” of COVID-19 transmission networks in schools, the authors wrote in their article, published Monday February 22 in the CDC journal. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Initial infections among educators played an important role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to school and subsequent chains of infection… stressing the importance of preventing infections among educators in particular,” said they stated.
The CDC’s findings come just over a week after the agency released detailed guidance on how to safely reopen American schools.
The results are also consistent with those of previous studies in Europe. For example, a study in the UK found that educator-to-educator transmission of COVID-19 was more common in schools than pupil-to-pupil transmission, and a German study found that rates of Transmission of COVID-19 in schools were three times higher when the index patient was a teacher than when the index case was a student.
Measures to prevent COVID-19 infection among teachers, including measures to minimize in-person interactions between adults at school, will likely reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools, wrote the authors. Indeed, they noted that the Georgia school district in the study has already made changes to reduce in-person interactions between educators. Vaccinating teachers can also help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools, although the authors noted that vaccinating teachers is not a requirement for reopening schools.
The study also found that most cases of transmission of COVID-19 at school occurred when there was “less than ideal physical distance,” meaning students and teachers were very close. one another; and the students were not wearing face masks properly. This underscores the need to promote “the correct use of masks and physical distancing where possible” in schools, the authors wrote. Physical distance is especially important during meals, when masks are not worn, they said.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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