Factors Associated with Participation in Elementary School-Based SARS-CoV-2 Testing - Salt Lake County, Utah, December 2020-January 2021

A longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 prevention strategies implemented among US K-12 public schools during the 2021-2022 school year

PURPOSE

Examine how school-based COVID-19 prevention strategy implementation varied over time, including by local characteristics.

METHODS

School administrators (n = 335) from a nationally representative sample of K-12 public schools completed four surveys assessing COVID-19 prevention strategies at two-month intervals between October 2021 and June 2022. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates by survey wave. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model longitudinal changes in strategy implementation, accounting for school and county covariates.

RESULTS

Opening doors/windows, daily cleaning, and diagnostic testing were reported by ≥ 50 % of schools at each survey wave. Several strategies were consistently implemented across the 2021-2022 school year (i.e., daily cleaning, opening doors and windows, diagnostic testing) while other strategies increased initially and then declined (i.e., contact tracing, screening testing, on-campus vaccination) or declined consistently throughout the school year (i.e., mask requirement, classroom distancing, quarantine). Although longitudinal changes in strategy implementation did not vary by school characteristics, strategy implementation varied by urban-rural classification and school level throughout the school year.

CONCLUSIONS

Strategies that were consistently implemented throughout the school year were also reported by a majority of schools, speaking toward their feasibility for school-based infection control and prevention and potential utility in future public health emergencies.

Roadmap to recovery: Implemented and attitude toward school reopening strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, a scoping review

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had various financial and life impacts on the world's population. Schools' regular activity and function during the pandemic require balancing the repercussions of suspending in-person education versus health threats. Furthermore, children are one of the prominent victims of the restricted quarantine strategies' effects, which may make them vulnerable to various mental health problems. In this study, we reviewed previously reported strategies and roadmaps regarding the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following databases were searched from October to December 2021, via multi-step search strategies for "COVID-19," "coronavirus," "school reopening," "roadmaps," "reopening," and "reopening strategies": Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of five papers with roadmaps focusing on reopening schools were included in this study. Fundamental issues and principles of these reviewed roadmaps were: 1) protecting the high-risk students and staff physically and mentally, 2) accelerating the vaccination of essential workers, staff, parents, and students, and 3) improving the COVID-19 testing capacity. Roadmaps for the reopening of the schools should describe some phases and steps for their strategies. Current roadmaps have not mentioned any phases and timelines for this process. Describing some health metrics in the roadmaps for progressing to the next step or returning to the previous ones is also necessary for all roadmaps and should be considered in further studies.

COVID-19 Testing in Schools: Perspectives of School Administrators, Teachers, Parents, and Students in Southern California

BACKGROUND

School-based COVID-19 testing is a potential strategy to facilitate the safe reopening of schools that have been closed due to the pandemic. This qualitative study assessed attitudes toward this strategy among four groups of stakeholders: school administrators, teachers, parents, and high school students.

METHODS

Focus groups and interviews were conducted in Los Angeles from December 2020 to January 2021 when schools were closed due to the high level of COVID transmission in the community.

RESULTS

Findings indicated similarities and differences in attitudes toward in-school COVID-19 testing. All groups agreed that frequent in-school COVID-19 testing could increase the actual safety and perceived safety of the school environment. School administrators expressed pessimism about the financial cost and logistics of implementing a testing program. Parents supported frequent testing but expressed concerns about physical discomfort and stigma for students who test positive. Teachers and parents noted that testing would prevent parents from sending sick children to school. Students were in favor of testing because it would allow them to return to in-person school after a difficult year of online learning.

CONCLUSION

In-school COVID-19 testing could be a useful component of school reopening plans and will be accepted by stakeholders if logistical and financial barriers can be surmounted and stigma from positive results can be minimized.

BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness Given Confirmed Exposure: Analysis of Household Members of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

BACKGROUND

Although BNT162b2 vaccine-efficacy analyses have been published, the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing coronavirus disease 2019 given confirmed exposure has not been previously demonstrated, even though it has policy implications, such as the need for self-quarantine when exposure has occurred.

METHODS

In a retrospective cohort study, we used data collected between 20 December 2020 and 17 March 2021 from the second largest healthcare provider in Israel to analyze the probability of an additional household infection occurring within 10 days after an index infection. In model 1, vaccine effectiveness was described for Fully Vaccinated individuals (7 or more days from second dose) vs either Unvaccinated individuals or those Recently Vaccinated Once (0-7 days from the first dose, presumably still unprotected). Secondary analyses included correction for differing testing rates. In model 2, we conducted a separate analysis of households comprised of only adults with the same vaccination status.

RESULTS

A total of 173 569 households were included, of which 6351 had an index infection (mean [standard deviation] age, 58.9 [13.5] years); 50% were women. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness of Fully Vaccinated compared with Unvaccinated participants was 80.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73.5-85.4) and 82.0% (95% CI, 75.6-86.8) compared with those Recently Vaccinated Once.

CONCLUSIONS

The BNT162b2 vaccine is effective in high-risk real-life exposure scenarios, but the protection afforded in these settings is lower than that previously described. Individuals with a confirmed significant exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome are still at risk of being infected even if fully vaccinated.

Acceptance of Saliva-Based Specimen Collection for SARS-CoV-2 Testing Among K-12 Students, Teachers, and Staff

OBJECTIVE

Saliva specimens collected in school populations may offer a more feasible, noninvasive alternative to nasal swabs for large-scale COVID-19 testing efforts in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schools. We investigated acceptance of saliva-based COVID-19 testing among quarantined K-12 students and their parents, teachers, and staff members who recently experienced a SARS-CoV-2 exposure in school.

METHODS

We surveyed 719 participants, in person or by telephone, who agreed to or declined a free saliva-based COVID-19 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test as part of a surveillance investigation about whether they would have consented to testing if offered a nasal swab instead. We conducted this investigation in 6 school districts in Greene County (n = 3) and St. Louis County (n = 3), Missouri, from January 25 through March 23, 2021.

RESULTS

More than one-third (160 of 446) of K-12 students (or their parents or guardians), teachers, and staff members who agreed to a saliva-based COVID-19 test indicated they would have declined testing if specimen collection were by nasal swab. When stratified by school level, 51% (67 of 132) of elementary school students or their parents or guardians would not have agreed to testing if a nasal swab was offered.

CONCLUSIONS

Some students, especially those in elementary school, preferred saliva-based COVID-19 testing to nasal swab testing. Use of saliva-based testing might increase voluntary participation in screening efforts in K-12 schools to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.