| Literature DB >> 34723225 |
Shira Doron1, Robin R Ingalls2, Anne Beauchamp3, Jesse S Boehm4, Helen W Boucher1, Linda H Chow5, Linda Corridan3, Katey Goehringer6, Doug Golenbock7, Liz Larsen8, David Lussier3, Marcia Testa9, Andrea Ciaranello10.
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in K-12 schools was rare during in 2020-2021; few studies included Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended screening of asymptomatic individuals. We conduct a prospective observational study of SARS-CoV-2 screening in a mid-sized suburban public school district to evaluate the incidence of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), document frequency of in-school transmission, and characterize barriers and facilitators to asymptomatic screening in schools. Staff and students undergo weekly pooled testing using home-collected saliva samples. Identification of >1 case in a school prompts investigation for in-school transmission and enhancement of safety strategies. With layered mitigation measures, in-school transmission even before student or staff vaccination is rare. Screening identifies a single cluster with in-school staff-to-staff transmission, informing decisions about in-person learning. The proportion of survey respondents self-reporting comfort with in-person learning before versus after implementation of screening increases. Costs exceed $260,000 for assays alone; staff and volunteers spend 135-145 h per week implementing screening.Entities:
Keywords: COVID-19; K-12 schools; SARS-CoV-2; asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 screening; in-school SARS-CoV-2 transmission; mitigation; prevention
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34723225 PMCID: PMC8549440 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100452
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Cell Rep Med ISSN: 2666-3791
Results of a public K–12 school screening program
| Week | Staff (total n = 921) | Students (total n = 2,403) | Town COVID-19 metrics | Weighted staff city and town of residence metrics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participated in screening: n | Positive results by screening: n (% of screened) | Positive results by outside testing: n | Participated in screening: n | Positive results by screening: n (% of screened) | Positive results by outside testing: n | 14-day average of daily cases/ 100K | Molecular test positivity (%) | 14-day average of daily cases/ 100K | Molecular test positivity (%) | |
| 1 | 1,005 | 0 (0) | 2 | 3,596 | 1 (0.03) | 0 | 2.2 | 0.09 | NA | NA |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 | 0.08 | 5.4 | 0.8 | ||||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.10 | 6.6 | 0.9 | ||||
| 4 | 363 | 0 (0) | 1 | 2 | 1.7 | 0.09 | 7.0 | 1.0 | ||
| 5 | 721 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 | 3.4 | 0.17 | 8.4 | 1.2 | ||
| 6 | 739 | 1 (0.14) | 0 | 1,847 | 0 (0) | 0 | 5.8 | 0.26 | 11.0 | 1.4 |
| 7 | 687 | 5 (0.73) | 6 | 1,648 | 2 (0.12) | 1 | 5.3 | 0.23 | 14.8 | 1.7 |
| 8 | 584 | 2 (0.34) | 0 | 774 | 1 (0.13) | 4 | 13.7 | 0.58 | 20.4 | 2.2 |
| 9 | 602 | 2 (0.33) | 0 | 759 | 0 (0) | 7 | 19.5 | 0.78 | 23.8 | 2.4 |
| 10 | 737 | 0 (0) | 2 | 1,774 | 2 (0.11) | 2 | 19.5 | 0.88 | 25.4 | 2.8 |
| 11 | 749 | 0 (0) | 1 | 1,636 | 3 (0.18) | 2 | 19.7 | 0.98 | 34.4 | 3.7 |
| 12 | 763 | 0 (0) | 1 | 1,578 | 2 (0.13) | 8 | 20.9 | 1.05 | 43.8 | 4.2 |
| 13 | 735 | 0 (0) | 4 | 1,387 | 0 (0) | 8 | 21.6 | 1.26 | 43.3 | 4.4 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 (NA) | 0 | 0 | 0 (NA) | 0 | 18.8 | 1.58 | 40.7 | 4.6 |
| 15 | 727 | 1 (0.14) | 2 | 1,576 | 6 (0.38) | 10 | 19.5 | 2.34 | 43.2 | 5.5 |
| 16 | 673 | 1 (0.15) | 3 | 1,579 | 3 (0.19) | 4 | 24.5 | 2.11 | 55.5 | 5.7 |
| 17 | 722 | 1 (0.14) | 1 | 1,622 | 2 (0.12) | 11 | 25.0 | 1.61 | 53.9 | 4.8 |
| 18 | 733 | 1 (0.14) | 1 | 1585 | 3 (0.19) | 4 | 31.5 | 1.59 | 46.0 | 4.1 |
| Total | 10,050 | 14 (0.14) | 24 | 21,361 | 25 (0.12) | 63 | ||||
From Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Includes results from regular screening of two institutions of higher education.
From Massachusetts DPH. Consistent with many districts across MA, 87% of school staff live in other towns. The weighted averages are calculated from weekly data for each town or city where staff members live, weighted by the number of staff from each city or town. These are data averaged over 2-week periods ending with the week listed, the format in which they reported by the state.
Baseline screening was offered to students at all grade levels (pre-K–12). Subsequent screening (weeks 6–18) was offered to middle and high school students (n = 2,403).
Figure 1Identification of SARS-CoV-2 through the screening program: SARS CoV-2 diagnoses during 18 weeks of in-person learning
This figure depicts the number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 diagnoses among members of the school community. The horizontal axis shows week number. The vertical axis shows number of confirmed diagnoses. The bars are broken down into categories: elementary students (blue); middle school students (orange); high school students (purple); and educators and staff (yellow).
| REAGENT or RESOURCE | SOURCE | IDENTIFIER |
|---|---|---|
| Saliva Clear (Mirimus Laboratories) | Mirimus | |
| Saliva Direct (Mirimus Laboratories) | Mirimus | |
| Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Office | |
| Google Forms (for online survey) | ||