An unvaccinated teacher from an elementary school in California (United States) has been responsible for at least 26 cases of Covid-19, including 18 students, US health authorities reported in a study published on Friday.
This incident shows the importance of vaccinating school personnel, especially when students are too young to be vaccinated, say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States’ leading federal public health agency. It also highlights the need for measures such as the correct wearing of a mask, in the context of the outbreak of the epidemic linked to the highly contagious Delta variant.
The teacher did not wear a mask on several occasions
The teacher in question, who is not known to be male or female, continued to work in May 2021 for two days after starting to experience symptoms, initially believing he was suffering from allergies. This teacher has repeatedly not worn a mask during readings to his class, despite the recommendations in effect in this suburb of San Francisco, Marin County.
A total of 12 of his students contracted the disease, including 8 of those sitting in the front rows. Six students from another class were also infected. The connection between the two classes was likely “interactions within the school,” according to the study. All were under the age of 12 and therefore not eligible for vaccination. Finally, eight other cases among parents or brothers and sisters of the students were identified.
Concerns for back to school
The director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, regretted Friday during a press conference that “many schools” have chosen not to put in place measures such as the compulsory wearing of masks for all indoors.
“Extensive quarantine measures and large numbers of cases usually occur in schools because they do not follow our recommendations,” she lamented, while many parents and officials worry at the time of the start of the school year. classes in the country.
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