Citation
Wiens, Kirsten E.; Smith, Claire P.; Badillo-Goicoechea, Elena; Grantz, Kyra H.; Grabowski, Mary K.; Azman, Andrew S.; Stuart, Elizabeth A.; & Lessler, Justin (2022). In-Person Schooling and Associated COVID-19 Risk in the United States over Spring Semester 2021. Science Advances, 8(16), eabm9128. PMCID: PMC9020776Abstract
Because of the importance of schools to childhood development, the relationship between in-person schooling and COVID-19 risk has been one of the most important questions of this pandemic. Previous work in the United States during winter 2020-2021 showed that in-person schooling carried some risk for household members and that mitigation measures reduced this risk. Schooling and the COVID-19 landscape changed radically over spring semester 2021. Here, we use data from a massive online survey to characterize changes in in-person schooling behavior and associated risks over that period. We find increases in in-person schooling and reductions in mitigations over time. In-person schooling is associated with increased reporting of COVID-19 outcomes even among vaccinated individuals (although the absolute risk among the vaccinated is greatly reduced). Vaccinated teachers working outside the home were less likely to report COVID-19-related outcomes than unvaccinated teachers working exclusively from home. Adequate mitigation measures appear to eliminate the excess risk associated with in-person schooling.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm9128Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2022Journal Title
Science AdvancesAuthor(s)
Wiens, Kirsten E.Smith, Claire P.
Badillo-Goicoechea, Elena
Grantz, Kyra H.
Grabowski, Mary K.
Azman, Andrew S.
Stuart, Elizabeth A.
Lessler, Justin