Unvaccinated teacher sparks COVID outbreak among 22 kids in California, CDC says
.JPG "A seventh-grade math classroom sits empty at Morton Middle School in Lexington, Ky., on Monday, April 20, 2020. In-class learning has been suspended until at least May 1 because of the novel coronavirus.")
An unvaccinated elementary school teacher in Marin County, California went into work one day in May despite some nasal congestion and fatigue; the symptoms were likely allergies, the teacher thought.
For two days, the teacher continued to work, occasionally reading aloud to their 24 students without a mask on, despite a school-wide requirement to wear one indoors.
A test confirmed the teacher had COVID-19. Just two days later, reports of additional cases rolled in among other staff members, students, parents and siblings connected to the school.
A total of 26 people were infected, including 12 of the teacher’s students, an additional six students in a separate grade, four parents and four siblings of affected students, according to a study posted Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All students who contracted the coronavirus were too young for COVID-19 vaccination. Only those aged 12 and older can get vaccinated with the Pfizer, now formally called Comirnaty, vaccine.
The CDC says the outbreak highlights the importance of vaccination among school staff members who work closely with younger students who cannot yet get vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as other preventive measures, such as proper masking, routine testing, adequate ventilation and staying home when sick.
The findings also reveal how transmissible the now dominant delta variant is, which comprised all samples from the outbreak that were genetically sequenced.
“Vaccines are effective against the delta variant, but transmission risk remains elevated among unvaccinated persons in schools,” the CDC said. “In addition to vaccination, strict adherence to multiple nonpharmaceutical prevention strategies, including masking, are important to ensure safe school instruction.”
During the outbreak, students were sitting in desks separated by 6 feet. The CDC recommends K-12 students maintain a distance of at least 3 feet in classroom settings only if everyone, including staff, is wearing masks.
The study found that students sitting closest to the infected teacher’s desk were more likely to catch the virus.
All classrooms also had “portable high-efficiency particulate air filters and doors and windows were left open” — another recommendation by the CDC.
All of the teachers at the school were vaccinated except for two, one of which was the index case in the outbreak.
Researchers said it was difficult to characterize “the outbreak’s actual spread into the community” because some people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 refused to get tested.
California has had more than 4.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 27. More than 65,000 people have died.
Nearly 13,800 new coronavirus cases were added Thursday, including 102 deaths.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Unvaccinated teacher sparks COVID outbreak among 22 kids in California, CDC says."
