Emergence of the delta variant and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in secondary school students and staff: Prospective surveillance in 18 schools, England.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The role of educational settings in SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission remains controversial. We investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence, and seroconversion rates in secondary schools during the 2020/21 academic year, which included the emergence of the more transmissible alpha and delta variants, in England.

Methods

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) initiated prospective surveillance in 18 urban English secondary schools. Participants had nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and blood sampling for SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein and spike protein antibodies at the start (Round 1: September-October 2020) and end (Round 2: December 2020) of the autumn term, when schools reopened after national lockdown was imposed in January 2021 (Round 3: March-April 2021),

SUBMITTER: Ladhani SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8882000 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature