Teachers may be more significant drivers in the spread of COVID-19 than students, according to results from a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was released on Monday.
The CDC studied nine COVID-19 transmission clusters in elementary schools in Marietta, an Atlanta suburb, in December and January.
Only one of the nine clusters studied showed that a student was distinctively documented as the first coronavirus case, while teachers were documented as the first case in four different clusters. The study also found that eight out of nine clusters were potentially teacher-to-student transmitted cases. Transmission also involved two clusters that saw teachers infect one another during in-person meetings or lunches, with the teacher subsequently infecting other students.
“Educators were central to in-school transmission networks,” the authors wrote.
The CDC study echoes those done in other countries including one in the United Kingdom that found that teacher-to-teacher was the most common type of school transmission and one in Germany where it was discovered that in-school transmission rates were three times higher when the first documented case was a teacher.
In some American districts, schools have had to go all-virtual because so many teachers were exposed to the virus. The CDC study suggested that it would be desirable to vaccinate teachers to protect educators, minimize in-school transmission and keep schools operating in person, although the CDC restated that teacher vaccination is “not a requirement for reopening schools.”
However, Texas teachers have yet to be prioritized on the state’s list of vaccine eligibility.
Some state leaders -- including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — called for educators to be moved closer to the front of the line.
Teacher groups call being left out of Texas’ prioritization list in the state’s second phase of vaccinations a “slap in the face.”. That second phase, which began last month, was far more broad and prioritized those who were 65 and older, as well as those 16 and older with at least one chronic medical condition that put them at a higher risk of severe illness from the coronavirus.
Dr. David Lakey, the chief medical officer for the University of Texas System who serves on the 17-member Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel that worked with health officials on priority recommendations, has previously said the state decided against creating various subgroups based on occupation but rather focused age.
“Risk is very dependent on age, and so the older individuals have the higher risk,” he said.
Other research has suggested that there’s minimal transmission of viruses in schools and that they should reopen for in-person learning, a message that President Joe Biden’s administration has been pushing in recent weeks to mixed resolution.
The CDC has once again directed schools to pursue “multifaceted” strategies to prevent the spread of the virus, including cutting down on teacher-to-teacher meetings, making sure masks are worn correctly and increasing physical distancing, especially during mealtimes when masks can’t be worn.
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