On January 26, 2021, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published this “viewpoint” regarding COVID-19 and in-poerson school attendance, entitled, “Data and Policy to Guide Opening Schools Safely to Limit the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.”
It seems that in the press, the conclusion of this study has been reduced to the convenient byte, “there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.” Thus, it seems that many are quick to say, “There you have it. Science says COVID-19 is not a problem at schools, so reopen school, period.”
Not so fast.
The JAMA article, which includes links to a number of studies of COVID-19 spread in school compared to community, both in the US and in other countries, also includes the following information about COVID-19 spread:
While these data are encouraging overall, large outbreaks have occurred with apparent transmission in schools. In Israel, within 2 weeks of schools reopening in mid-May 2020, a large high school outbreak occurred when 2 students with epidemiologically unrelated infections attended classes while mildly symptomatic.Testing of more than 99% of at-risk students (n = 1164 eligible; 1161 tested) and staff (152 eligible; 151 tested) identified 153 and 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, respectively (attack rates of 13.2% and 16.6%). Contributing factors to this outbreak included crowded classrooms with insufficient physical distancing (eg, student density in classrooms exceeded recommended values), exemption from face mask use, and continuous air conditioning that recycled interior air in closed rooms during a heat wave.
And: CONTINUE READING: About That JAMA Article on COVID Transmission and Reopening Schools | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog
