Observatory and Cancer Analysis Team, Public Health Wales, 2 Capital Quarter, Tyndall St, CF10 4BQ, Cardiff, UK.
School of Medicine, Cardiff University, CF14 4XN, Cardiff, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2023 May 19;23(1):922. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15680-1.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face delivery of education in schools across Wales was disrupted with repeated school closures to limit risk of infection. Evidence describing the incidence of infection amongst school staff during times when schools were open is limited. A previous research study found infection rates were higher in English primary school settings when compared with secondary. An Italian study suggested teachers weren't at greater risk of infection in comparison to the general population. The aim of this study was to identify whether educational staff had higher incidence rates than their counterparts in the general population in Wales, and secondly whether incidence rates amongst staff differed between primary and secondary school settings and by teacher age.
We performed a retrospective observational cohort study using the national case detection and contact tracing system implemented during the COVID pandemic. Age stratified person-day COVID-19 incidence rates amongst teaching staff linked to primary or secondary schools in Wales were calculated for the autumn and summer terms during 2020-2021.
The observed pooled COVID-19 incidence rates for staff across both terms was 23.30 per 100,000 person days (95% CI: 22.31-24.33). By comparison, the rate in the general population aged 19-65, was 21.68 per 100,000 person days (95%: CI 21.53-21.84). Incidence among teaching staff was highest in the two youngest age groups (< 25 years and 25-29 years). When compared to the age matched general population, incidence was higher in the autumn term amongst primary school teachers aged ≤ 39 years, and in the summer term higher only in the primary school teachers aged < 25 years.
The data were consistent with an elevated risk of COVID-19 amongst younger teaching staff in primary schools when compared to the general population, however differences in case ascertainment couldn't be excluded as a possible reason for this. Rate differences by age group in teaching staff mirrored those in the general population. The risk in older teachers (≥ 50 years) in both settings was the same or lower than in the general population. Amongst all age groups of teachers maintaining the key risk mitigations within periods of COVID transmission remain important.
在威尔士，COVID-19 大流行期间，学校的面对面教学因多次关闭学校以限制感染风险而中断。有关学校开放期间学校工作人员感染发生率的证据有限。先前的一项研究发现，与中学相比，英格兰小学的感染率更高。一项意大利研究表明，与一般人群相比，教师感染的风险并没有更高。本研究旨在确定威尔士教育工作者的发病率是否高于一般人群，其次是工作人员的发病率是否在小学和中学之间以及按教师年龄存在差异。
我们使用在 COVID 大流行期间实施的全国病例检测和接触者追踪系统进行了回顾性观察队列研究。计算了 2020-2021 年秋季和夏季期间与威尔士小学或中学相关的教学人员的分层年龄 COVID-19 发病率。
观察到两个学期中员工的 COVID-19 总发病率为 23.30 人/100000 人天（95%CI：22.31-24.33）。相比之下，19-65 岁人群的发病率为 21.68 人/100000 人天（95%CI：21.53-21.84）。发病率最高的是年龄最小的两个年龄段（<25 岁和 25-29 岁）。与年龄匹配的一般人群相比，在秋季学期，≤39 岁的小学教师的发病率较高，而在夏季学期，只有 25 岁以下的小学教师的发病率较高。
数据表明，与一般人群相比，年龄较小的小学教师感染 COVID-19 的风险更高，但不能排除病例检出差异可能是造成这种情况的原因之一。教职员工按年龄组划分的发病率与一般人群相似。在两个环境中，≥50 岁的老年教师的风险与一般人群相同或更低。在 COVID 传播期间，所有年龄段的教师保持关键的风险缓解措施仍然很重要。
