The Lancet Regional Health. Europe (Oct 2022)
Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection among staff and students in a cohort of English primary and secondary schools during 2020–2021
- James R. Hargreaves,
- Sinéad M. Langan,
- William E. Oswald,
- Katherine E. Halliday,
- Joanna Sturgess,
- Jody Phelan,
- Patrick Nguipdop-Djomo,
- Benjamin Ford,
- Elizabeth Allen,
- Neisha Sundaram,
- Georgina Ireland,
- John Poh,
- Samreen Ijaz,
- Ian Diamond,
- Emma Rourke,
- Fiona Dawe,
- Alison Judd,
- Charlotte Warren-Gash,
- Taane G. Clark,
- Judith R. Glynn,
- W. John Edmunds,
- Chris Bonell,
- Punam Mangtani,
- Shamez N. Ladhani,
- Tanya Abramsky,
- Shazaad Ahmad,
- Felicity Aiano,
- Frances Baawuah,
- Urszula Bankiewicz,
- Sarah Batt,
- Joanne Beckmann,
- Ami Bhavsar,
- Bernadette Brent,
- Andrew Brent,
- Simon Brouwer,
- Kevin Brown,
- Richard Browne,
- Kevin Childs,
- Sarah Cook,
- Simon Cousens,
- Ieuan Day,
- Antonio Felton,
- Paul Fine,
- David Foster,
- Joanna Garstang,
- David Gates,
- Claire Grant,
- Bethany Griffiths-Tong,
- Claire Hele,
- Rowan Hemsi,
- Pete Jones,
- Helena Jordan,
- Adam Kucharski,
- Andrea Lacey,
- Rebecca Leeson,
- Ffion Lelii,
- Philip Lovely,
- Madeleine Lunskey,
- Chris McLanachan,
- James Munday,
- Ifeanyichukwu Okike,
- Kathleen O'Reilly,
- Penelope Parker,
- Annabel Powell,
- Sarah Proud,
- Mary Ramsay,
- Lee Rudd,
- Timothy Russell,
- Justin Shute,
- Nerissa Tilouche,
- Charmaine Virgin,
- Sian-Elin Wyatt,
- KELLY YEO
Affiliations
- James R. Hargreaves
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Corresponding author at: Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place WC1H 9SH, Keppel Street, London, United Kingdom.
- Sinéad M. Langan
- Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- William E. Oswald
- Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Katherine E. Halliday
- Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Joanna Sturgess
- Department of Medical Statistics, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Jody Phelan
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Patrick Nguipdop-Djomo
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Benjamin Ford
- Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Newport, UK
- Elizabeth Allen
- Department of Medical Statistics, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Neisha Sundaram
- Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Georgina Ireland
- National Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
- John Poh
- National Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
- Samreen Ijaz
- National Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
- Ian Diamond
- Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Newport, UK
- Emma Rourke
- Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Newport, UK
- Fiona Dawe
- Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Newport, UK
- Alison Judd
- Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Newport, UK
- Charlotte Warren-Gash
- Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Taane G. Clark
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Judith R. Glynn
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- W. John Edmunds
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Chris Bonell
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Punam Mangtani
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Shamez N. Ladhani
- National Infection Service, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK; Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St George's University of London, London, UK
- Tanya Abramsky
- Shazaad Ahmad
- Felicity Aiano
- Frances Baawuah
- Urszula Bankiewicz
- Sarah Batt
- Joanne Beckmann
- Ami Bhavsar
- Bernadette Brent
- Andrew Brent
- Simon Brouwer
- Kevin Brown
- Richard Browne
- Kevin Childs
- Sarah Cook
- Simon Cousens
- Ieuan Day
- Antonio Felton
- Paul Fine
- David Foster
- Joanna Garstang
- David Gates
- Claire Grant
- Bethany Griffiths-Tong
- Claire Hele
- Rowan Hemsi
- Pete Jones
- Helena Jordan
- Adam Kucharski
- Andrea Lacey
- Rebecca Leeson
- Ffion Lelii
- Philip Lovely
- Madeleine Lunskey
- Chris McLanachan
- James Munday
- Ifeanyichukwu Okike
- Kathleen O'Reilly
- Penelope Parker
- Annabel Powell
- Sarah Proud
- Mary Ramsay
- Lee Rudd
- Timothy Russell
- Justin Shute
- Nerissa Tilouche
- Charmaine Virgin
- Sian-Elin Wyatt
- KELLY YEO
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 21
p. 100471
Abstract
Summary: Background: There remains uncertainty about the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 among school students and staff and the extent to which non-pharmaceutical-interventions reduce the risk of school settings. Methods: We conducted an open cohort study in a sample of 59 primary and 97 secondary schools in 15 English local authority areas that were implementing government guidance to schools open during the pandemic. We estimated SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among those attending school, antibody prevalence, and antibody negative to positive conversion rates in staff and students over the school year (November 2020–July 2021). Findings: 22,585 staff and students participated. SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among those attending school was highest during the first two rounds of testing in the autumn term, ranging from 0.7% (95% CI 0.2, 1.2) among primary staff in November 2020 to 1.6% (95% CI 0.9, 2.3) among secondary staff in December 2020. Antibody conversion rates were highest in the autumn term. Infection patterns were similar between staff and students, and between primary and secondary schools. The prevalence of nucleoprotein antibodies increased over the year and was lower among students than staff. SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence in the North-West region was lower among secondary students attending school on normal school days than the regional estimate for secondary school-age children. Interpretation: SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence in staff and students attending school varied with local community infection rates. Non-pharmaceutical interventions intended to prevent infected individuals attending school may have partially reduced the prevalence of infection among those on the school site. Funding: UK Department of Health and Social Care.
