MMWR News Synopsis

Articles

Association of Children’s Mode of School Instruction with Child and Parent Experiences and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic — COVID Experiences Survey, United States, October 8–November 13, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Students and families may need more support to deal with stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and stress that may be associated with virtual schooling. In March 2020, U.S. schools began closing buildings to slow the spread of COVID-19. A CDC survey of parents of children aged 5-12 found that parents of children receiving in-person only instruction were less likely to report poor outcomes for indicators of child and parent stress and well-being, compared with parents of children receiving virtual-only or combined instruction. Virtual instruction was also more commonly reported by Hispanic parents (65.9%), non-Hispanic other/multiracial parents (64.0%), and non-Hispanic Black parents (54.9%) than by non-Hispanic White parents (31.9%). Further research is needed to understand whether virtual instruction has disproportionately negative impacts on child and parent health outcomes among racial and ethnic minority populations. These findings show that students and families may need additional support to reduce stress, including connections to social and mental health services and opportunities for safe physical activity to reduce risks associated with depression, anxiety, and chronic health conditions. Efforts to limit spread of COVID-19 in the community and to support prevention strategies in schools are critically important to enable students’ return to in-person learning.

Minimal SARS-CoV-2 Transmission After Implementation of a Comprehensive Mitigation Strategy at a School — New Jersey, August 20–November 27, 2020

Jessica Welsh, Lawrenceville School Communications Director
Office Phone: 609-620-6961
Cell Phone: 484-695-6550
Email Address: jwelsh@lawrenceville.org

A comprehensive mitigation strategy, including frequent facility-wide COVID-19 testing, in a high school with both residential and commuter students likely reduced in-school spread of COVID-19 while allowing significant daily on- and off-campus movement. In a New Jersey school with almost 1,200 students and staff, testing identified 19 cases in faculty/staff and eight cases in students during August 20-November 27, 2020. Two of these infections were likely a result of on-campus spread. Comprehensive prevention strategies including frequent testing, and high level of adherence to wearing masks and physical distancing, can help prevent outbreaks at in-person high school settings, even when there is ongoing spread in the surrounding community. In 2020, many K-12 schools in the U.S. closed their campuses and turned to remote learning to limit in-school spread of COVID-19. A New Jersey school with almost 1,200 students and staff, including residential and commuter students in grades 9 through 12, remained open and implemented a comprehensive strategy to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among students, faculty, and staff members. This strategy included universal mask use, staying 6 feet apart, testing, upgrading equipment to improve ventilation, contact tracing, and quarantine/isolation. During August–November 2020, the school required mandatory screening using real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of all students and staff members twice a week. Nineteen (5%) of 405 faculty and staff members and 8 (1%) of 775 students received positive test results. Two of these cases were likely a result of on-campus spread. Secondary schools can implement a combination of testing and prevention strategies to help reduce spread of COVID-19 in a campus community and support in-person learning. All contacts quarantined for 14 days, and none received a positive test result during quarantine, suggesting that the risk mitigation strategies put into place were effective in preventing transmission from cases to their contacts.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Incidence by Age, Sex, and Period Among Persons Aged <25 Years — 16 U.S. Jurisdictions, January 1–December 31, 2020 (Early Release March 10, 2021)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

COVID-19 Vaccine Second-Dose Completion and Interval Between First and Second Doses Among Vaccinated Persons — United States, December 14, 2020−February 14, 2021 (Early Release March 15, 2021)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Residents of Two Skilled Nursing Facilities Experiencing COVID-19 Outbreaks — Connecticut, December 2020–February 2021 (Early Release March 15, 2021)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Malaria Surveillance—United States, 2017

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Malaria is a deadly disease that can be prevented by taking medications before, during, and after traveling. Almost all cases of malaria in the U.S. were in travelers that did not take preventive measures. The majority of malaria infections in the United States occur among people who have traveled to regions with malaria. There were 2,161 confirmed malaria cases in 2017. The number of malaria cases diagnosed in the United States has been increasing since the mid-1970s.I In 2017, the number of cases reported was the highest in 45 years, surpassing the previous peak of 2,078 confirmed cases in 2016. Because malaria can progress rapidly to severe illness and death, health care providers should ask for a travel history from all patients who present with a fever and test them for malaria if they traveled to a place where the disease occurs.

• SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Associated with High School Football Team Members — Florida, September–October 2020

A COVID-19 outbreak among members of a high school football team resulted in the loss of more than 2,000 in-person learning days for students with COVID-19 and their contacts since they had to isolate and quarantine. Spread among the team likely occurred during practice and was caused by infrequent mask use; inadequate physical distancing and ventilation; and insufficient cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing practices. To prevent spread of COVID-19 in school and lost in-person school days, school sports teams should implement recommended CDC strategies. On September 23, 2020, school administrators at a Florida high school learned of a confirmed COVID-19 case in a player on the school’s football team. Administrators informed the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), which determined that all other team members should be quarantined because of close contact with this patient. By September 26, 2020, the health department was notified of six additional team members with COVID-19 who were linked to the initial patient. Because of potential close contact between team members with COVID-19 and their classmates, 267 students at the football team’s school were quarantined, resulting in more than 2,000 days of lost in-person learning. An investigation found that the spread likely occurred during practice. Factors that likely contributed to spread among the team included infrequent mask use in the weight room and during practice; inadequate physical distancing and ventilation on team buses; infrequent cleaning and disinfection of locker rooms, weight room equipment, and other shared spaces; and insufficient sanitizing of drinking nozzles on a shared hydration system. The health department recommended that the school address the factors likely contributing to the spread of COVID-19 and that the football team conduct non-physical activities virtually such as play reviews. These findings reinforce why it’s important for school sports teams to implement recommended CDC prevention strategies, including keeping students at least 6 feet apart, wearing masks consistently during practice, and testing players and staff members. To maintain in-person learning by limiting COVID-19 spread, schools should also limit extracurricular activities – including in-person sports – according to CDC guidelines.

• Age-Adjusted Death Rates for Motor Vehicle Traffic Injury — United States, 2019

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CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.