Impacts of testing and immunity acquired through vaccination and infection on covid-19 cases in Massachusetts elementary and secondary students
dc.contributor.author | Branch-Elliman, Westyn | |
dc.contributor.author | Ertem, Melissa Zeynep | |
dc.contributor.author | Nelson, Richard E | |
dc.contributor.author | Danesharasteh, Anseh | |
dc.contributor.author | Berlin, David | |
dc.contributor.author | Fisher, Lloyd | |
dc.contributor.author | Schechter-Perkins, Elissa M | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-10-19T14:19:03Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-10-19T14:19:03Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024-10-16 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Branch-Elliman W, Ertem MZ, Nelson RE, Danesharasteh A, Berlin D, Fisher L, Schechter-Perkins EM. Impacts of testing and immunity acquired through vaccination and infection on covid-19 cases in Massachusetts elementary and secondary students. Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Oct 16;4(1):202. doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00619-3. PMID: 39415047; PMCID: PMC11484689. | en_US |
dc.identifier.eissn | 2730-664X | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/s43856-024-00619-3 | en_US |
dc.identifier.pmid | 39415047 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/53933 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background: During the 2021-22 academic year, Massachusetts supported several in-school testing programs to facilitate in-person learning. Additionally, COVID-19 vaccines became available to all school-aged children and many were infected with SARS-CoV-2. There are limited studies evaluating the impacts of these testing programs on SARS-CoV-2 cases in elementary and secondary school settings. The aim of this state-wide, retrospective cohort study was to assess the impact of testing programs and immunity on SARS-CoV-2 case rates in elementary and secondary students. Methods: Community-level vaccination and cumulative incidence rates were combined with data about participation in and results of in-school testing programs (test-to-stay, pooled surveillance testing). School-level impacts of surveillance testing programs on SARS-CoV-2 cases in students were estimated using generalized estimating equations within a target trial emulation approach stratified by school type (elementary/middle/high). Impacts of immunity and vaccination were estimated using random effects linear regression. Results: Here we show that among N = 652,353 students at 2141 schools participating in in-school testing programs, surveillance testing is associated with a small but measurable decrease in in-school positivity rates. During delta, pooled testing positivity rates are higher in communities with higher cumulative incidence of infection. During omicron, when immunity from prior infection became more prevalent, the effect reversed, such that communities with lower burden of infection during the earlier phases of the pandemic had higher infection rates. Conclusions: Testing programs are an effective strategy for supporting in-person learning. Fluctuating levels of immunity acquired via natural infection or vaccination are a major determinant of SARS-CoV-2 cases in schools. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Communications medicine | en_US |
dc.relation.url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00619-3 | en_US |
dc.rights | © 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. | en_US |
dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | * |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | * |
dc.subject | Covid-19 pandemic | en_US |
dc.subject | community immunity | en_US |
dc.subject | Covid-19 testing | en_US |
dc.subject | in-person learning | en_US |
dc.subject | elementary and secondary schools | en_US |
dc.subject | in-person learning policies | en_US |
dc.title | Impacts of testing and immunity acquired through vaccination and infection on covid-19 cases in Massachusetts elementary and secondary students | en_US |
dc.type | Journal Article | en_US |
dc.source.journaltitle | Communications medicine | |
dc.source.volume | 4 | |
dc.source.issue | 1 | |
dc.source.beginpage | 202 | |
dc.source.endpage | ||
dc.source.country | England | |
dc.identifier.journal | Communications medicine | |
dc.contributor.department | Pediatrics | en_US |