Keeping schools open during the emergence of the COVID-19 alpha variant: Impact on the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among children during the 2020-2021 school year: Epidemiology of COVID-19 in children and adolescents during the 2020-2021 school year in France.
Lelia Abad, Denise Antona, Candice Roudier, Vincent Auvigne, Jonathan Bastard, Clara Blondel, Julien Durand, Myriam Fayad, Cécile Forgeot, Julie Figoni, Alexandra Mailles, Frédéric Moisan, Guillaume Spaccaferri, Didier Che, Daniel Levy-Bruhl, Marion Hulin
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Abstract
Background: During 2020-2021, in the context of increasing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the general population, French authorities made the decision to keep schools open and set up massive screening campaigns for students. Here, we describe the impact of this strategy on the circulation of SARS-COV-2 among children and adolescents during this period.
Methods: We analyzed SARS-COV-2 surveillance data provided by the French National Public Health Agency for the 2020-2021 school year along with the results of school-based screening campaigns implemented by the Ministry of National Education.
Results: The proportion of 0-17-year-olds among confirmed cases and tested individuals increased throughout the school year, with children and adolescents reaching a maximum of 24 % of confirmed cases in 2021 week (W) 22. During the first semester of 2021 (W3-W22), >2.6 million tests were performed in schools, with a positivity rate of 0.32 % among students. Considering only symptomatic cases, higher incidence rates occurred among children and adolescents during the 2021 wave from W9 to W17 compared with that in 2020 from W40 to W48. The incidence rate did not significantly change following the school closure periods.
Conclusion: The higher contribution of children and adolescents to viral circulation during the 2020-2021 school year seems more related to the emergence of the alpha variant than to France's decision to keep schools open. Considering the negative impact of school closures on children's mental health, these results support the decision to keep schools open when accompanied by appropriate control measures.
期刊介绍：
Archives de Pédiatrie publishes in English original Research papers, Review articles, Short communications, Practice guidelines, Editorials and Letters in all fields relevant to pediatrics.
Eight issues of Archives de Pédiatrie are released annually, as well as supplementary and special editions to complete these regular issues.
All manuscripts submitted to the journal are subjected to peer review by international experts, and must:
Be written in excellent English, clear and easy to understand, precise and concise;
Bring new, interesting, valid information - and improve clinical care or guide future research;
Be solely the work of the author(s) stated;
Not have been previously published elsewhere and not be under consideration by another journal;
Be in accordance with the journal''s Guide for Authors'' instructions: manuscripts that fail to comply with these rules may be returned to the authors without being reviewed.
Under no circumstances does the journal guarantee publication before the editorial board makes its final decision.
Archives de Pédiatrie is the official publication of the French Society of Pediatrics.
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