Public Health England, London, United Kingdom.
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2021 Aug 27;16(8):e0255517. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255517. eCollection 2021.
The reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about widespread infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in educational settings. In June 2020, Public Health England (PHE) initiated prospective national surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in primary schools across England (sKIDs). We used this opportunity to assess the feasibility and agreeability of large-scale surveillance and testing for SARS-CoV-2 infections in school among staff, parents and students.
Staff and students in 131 primary schools were asked to complete a questionnaire at recruitment and provide weekly nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing (n = 86) or swabs with blood samples for antibody testing (n = 45) at the beginning and end the summer half-term. In six blood sampling schools, students were asked to complete a pictorial questionnaire before and after their investigations.
In total, 135 children aged 4-7 years (n = 40) or 8-11 years (n = 95) completed the pictorial questionnaire fully or partially. Prior to sampling, oral fluid sampling was the most acceptable test (107/132, 81%) followed by throat swabs (80/134, 59%), nose swabs (77/132, 58%), and blood tests (48/130, 37%). Younger students were more nervous about all tests than older students but, after completing their tests, most children reported a "better than expected" experience with all the investigations. Students were more likely to agree to additional testing for nose swabs (93/113, 82%) and oral fluid (93/114, 82%), followed by throat swabs (85/113, 75%) and blood tests (72/108, 67%). Parents (n = 3,994) and staff (n = 2,580) selected a preference for weekly testing with nose swabs, throat swabs or oral fluid sampling, although staff were more flexible about testing frequency.
Primary school staff and parents were supportive of regular tests for SARS-CoV-2 and selected a preference for weekly testing. Children preferred nose swabs and oral fluids over throat swabs or blood sampling.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间重新开放学校引发了人们对 SARS-CoV-2 在教育环境中广泛感染和传播的担忧。2020 年 6 月，英国公共卫生部 (PHE) 启动了对英格兰各地小学 SARS-CoV-2 的全国性前瞻性监测（sKIDs）。我们利用这个机会评估了对学校教职员工、家长和学生进行大规模 SARS-CoV-2 感染监测和检测的可行性和可接受性。
131 所小学的教职员工和学生在招募时被要求完成一份问卷，并在夏季学期开始和结束时提供每周一次的鼻拭子进行 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR 检测（n = 86）或鼻拭子与血液样本进行抗体检测（n = 45）。在六所进行血液采样的学校中，学生在调查前后被要求完成一份图画式问卷。
共有 135 名 4-7 岁（n = 40）或 8-11 岁（n = 95）的儿童完全或部分完成了图画式问卷。在采样前，唾液采样是最受欢迎的检测方法（132 人中 107 人，81%），其次是咽喉拭子（134 人中 80 人，59%）、鼻拭子（132 人中 77 人，58%）和血液检测（130 人中 48 人，37%）。年龄较小的学生对所有检测都比年龄较大的学生更紧张，但在完成检测后，大多数孩子报告说所有检测的体验都“好于预期”。学生更愿意同意接受鼻拭子（113 人中有 93 人，82%）和唾液（114 人中有 93 人，82%）的额外检测，其次是咽喉拭子（113 人中有 85 人，75%）和血液检测（108 人中有 72 人，67%）。家长（n = 3994）和教职员工（n = 2580）选择了每周进行鼻拭子、咽喉拭子或唾液取样检测的偏好，尽管教职员工对检测频率更灵活。
小学教职员工和家长支持对 SARS-CoV-2 进行定期检测，并选择了每周检测的偏好。儿童更喜欢鼻拭子和唾液，而不是咽喉拭子或血液采样。
