“The two main reasons for the spread of Covid-19 in these schools were inadequate physical distance and adherence to the mask,” said Walensky. “In schools, the physical distance of at least 6 feet was not possible due to the large number of students in the classes, as well as the layout of the classrooms”.
“The results also highlight the importance of stepping up vaccination efforts across the country, including the continuing need to prioritize teachers and other school staff for vaccination as part of essential frontline workers, as recommended by the Committee Advisory on Immunization Practices, “he said. she added.
Teacher meetings likely fueled the spread, the study found
The CDC study looked at 700 school employees and 2,600 students who participated in school learning at eight public primary schools in the Atlanta suburb from December 1 to January 22. School learning resulted in nine groups of Covid-19 cases involving 13 educators and 32 students in six of the schools.
Eight of the nine clusters involved at least one educator, and one educator was the first patient with coronavirus identified in at least four of the clusters. Half of the cases associated with the school were due to the transmission from educator to student, which probably originated from educators who first spread the virus among themselves, including “during personal meetings or lunches,” the study concluded.
“Early infections among educators played a substantial role in transmission at school and subsequent chains of infection to other educators, students and families, highlighting the importance of infection prevention among educators in particular,” wrote the study’s authors.
All nine groups “involved less than ideal physical distance” and five involved “inappropriate use of masks by students”, according to the study.
The study authors said that vaccinating teachers, when the vaccine is available, can be useful.
Expert: We need to vaccinate our teachers
While vaccinating teachers is important, it is not vital for schools to reopen, Walensky told CNN earlier this month.
“While we do not think that all teachers need to be vaccinated before opening a school, that does not detract from the fact that we strongly support the vaccination of teachers,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci during a meeting at the White House. briefing last week.
In the meantime, at least one leading expert continues to emphasize that she believes that teacher vaccination is “essential” to pave the way back to school.
“The CDC and the Biden administration need to act now and say that teacher vaccination is essential,” Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, told CNN on Monday. -market. “If taking our kids back to school, personally, is really a priority, we need to vaccinate our teachers.”
Pushing to reopen schools, from New York to Los Angeles
The national conversation about prioritizing teachers to get vaccines continues to simmer as more local and state leaders announce plans to reopen schools.
In California, the Los Angeles Unified School District – the nation’s second largest school system – aims to welcome preschool and elementary students back to face-to-face education no later than April 9, said Superintendent Austin Beutner at Monday.
“As difficult as the decision to close classrooms was, reopening is even more difficult,” said Beutner. “We cannot – and we will not – compromise health and safety.”
“It is a pity that educators are being targeted, and the pressure to prevent an unsafe return falls on us as our students and their families face economic devastation, illness and death,” said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz in a statement. communicated to CNN.
Los Angeles County health officials said that as of March 1, county educators and child care workers will be eligible to receive the vaccine. And last week, Governor Gavin Newsom said the state will reserve 10% of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for use by teachers and child caregivers in efforts to help resume face-to-face education.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also urged local governments to work to open schools “unless there is a community or school with a spike in infection”.
“Students deserve classroom instruction,” he said last week. “Vaccinate teachers.”
On Monday, Cuomo said he asked all local districts to report by this week how many teachers have been vaccinated.
“Teachers are very concerned that, before returning to the classroom, they will be vaccinated,” he said. “I think we need clarity on this issue, opening schools is very important, very important for children”.
Meanwhile, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced a back-to-school vaccine plan last week, saying the state was now receiving substantially more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and, according to the plan, counties would receive additional consignments of vaccines explicitly intended for primary and secondary school teachers and staff.
In addition to vaccinations by teachers and staff, the state would provide free material for rapid results testing to schools.
“The emphasis on vaccinating elementary and high school teachers and staff, free testing materials, along with continued adherence to other mitigation strategies will allow us to safely bring students back to face-to-face learning,” said the governor.
CNN’s John Bonifield, Jamie Gumbrecht, Alexandra Meeks, Raja Razek, Kristina Sgueglia, Brian Vitagliano, Sarah Moon, Cheri Mossburg and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.