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I’ll take a stab at The Atlantic article. I’m a middle school science teacher, not an epidemiologist, but it seems #middleschool teachers are having a moment here. h/t to @rmc031 for balanced reporting and @TracyNovick for advocating for MA schools. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/just-open-schools-already/617849/
Claim: “Federal health officials at the CDC this week called for children to return to American classrooms as soon as possible.” As many have noted, the article is not official CDC guidance.
The JAMA article suggests a path forward that includes strict measures to reduce community spread and mitigation practices in schools, including masks, distancing, ventilation and asymptomatic testing. Fellow educators, how’s that going in your schools? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775875
The Atlantic article cites several studies that did not find significant transmission between kids or from kids to adults. Studies from South Korea and Israel that seemed to indicate a large role for schools and children in transmission have confounding variables.
Most studies cited do not include asymptomatic testing; failure to find transmission among kids and between kids and their families is partly a failure to look for it. Studies that include asymptomatic testing show kids can play a significant role. https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/new-on-the-covid-19-front-lines-children-may-be-driving-the-pandemic-after-all-a-95e4c0e7-2ea0-479b-ac27-d17f07d147a5
There are also indications that when rates are high, schools exacerbate spread, with higher rates among both staff and students. https://theintercept.com/2021/01/06/school-reopening-studies-covid/?s=03
The Atlantic article gives mental health a passing mention, citing a surge of suicides in Las Vegas. Physical reopening of schools during a pandemic is not the panacea some are making it out to be. A statistical take on these reports: https://twitter.com/tylerblack32/status/1344689828714131463?s=19
“Reopen the lower schools,” and educate teachers about the “lower transmission risk of young students.” I’m watching COVID cluster data on my state’s weekly dashboard and seeing daycare centers routinely clock in in the top five. And then there’s this: https://joshuajacobs-96546.medium.com/examining-the-data-on-in-person-schooling-and-covid-19-rates-for-teachers-and-school-staff-b8303726ca04
This is just patronizing, directed towards professionals who have spent the better part of the past four years combating misinformation and teaching news literacy. And while the JAMA article suggests at-risk staff should work remotely, many are denied that accommodation.
