As the delta variant continues to spread nationwide, whether masks should be required in schools is a hot debate. Of course, while some parents argue that wearing masks presents a risk to their children, studies show otherwise. Research has found that masks significantly lower the spread of COVID-19. A study of an outbreak tracing back to a classroom backs this up.
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that an unvaccinated teacher not only infected over a dozen students, but that the infection spread to siblings and parents as well. The study focused on a COVID-19 outbreak at an unnamed California elementary school and found that at least 22 students were infected with coronavirus by an unvaccinated teacher in May 2021.
"Students that were sitting in front of the classroom closer to the teacher were at higher risk, and we noticed that the infection in the students started to appear quite quickly right afterwards," Marin County public health epidemiologist Tracy Lam-Hine said. Lam-Hine is the lead author of the research paper.
According to Marin County Deputy Public Health Officer Dr Lisa Santora, the unvaccinated teacher took off their mask to read to children occasionally, even though the school required face coverings indoors. In addition to half her class being infected, six students in other grades and at least eight family members of the teacher’s students were infected.
By the time the teacher learned she was positive two days later, the outbreak has already occurred, The Washington Post reported. “The mask was off only momentarily, not an entire day or hours. We want to make the point that this is not the teacher’s fault — everyone lets their guard down — but the thing is delta takes advantage of slippage from any kind of protective measures,” Tracy Lam-Hine, an epidemiologist for the county, said in an interview.
The report noted that the outbreak could have been worse had Marin County’s vaccination rate been lower. At the time of the outbreak, 72% of eligible people had been fully vaccinated in the city where the school is located.
About 200 out of 6,000 school staff members in the school district are unvaccinated. While school staff must wear masks indoors and get tested at least once a week, vaccines are not mandated. The study on the outbreak might change these things. Research from CDC simulation projects found that without masking or testing, more than 75% of children could be infected within three months.
“Evidence has repeatedly demonstrated that multi-layer prevention strategies – such as vaccination for all children and adults who are eligible; masks for all students, teachers, staff, and visitors; ventilation; cohorting; physical distancing; and screening testing – work to prevent the spread of COVID in schools,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, said at a press briefing on Friday.
Alongside the study, the CDC also released a report on how Los Angeles County schools had reduced cases among students below the rate of community transmission by implementing mask and vaccine mandates. “This is not a story about a teacher and her class,” Lam-Hine said. “It’s about the need for all of us to be super vigilant.”
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