##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Viewpoint

Vol. 151 No. 4142 (2021)

A public health strategy for SARS-CoV-2, grounded in science, should guide Swiss schools through the coming winter

  • Olivia Keiser
  • Thomas Agoritsas
  • Christian L. Althaus
  • Andrew S. Azman
  • Dominique de Quervain
  • Antoine Flahault
  • Myrofora Goutaki
  • Arnaud Merglen
  • Isabella Eckerle
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2021;151:w30086
Published
14.10.2021

References

  1. COVID-⁠19 Switzerland | Coronavirus | Dashboard [Internet]. Covid19.admin.ch. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 29]. Available from: https://www.covid19.admin.ch/en/vaccination/persons
  2. Covid-⁠19 Schweiz | Coronavirus | Dashboard [Internet]. Covid19.admin.ch. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 29]. Available from: https://www.covid19.admin.ch/de/epidemiologic/case?rel=abs&demoView=
  3. COVID-19. Schulmassnahmen in der 4. Welle - pädiatrie schweiz [Internet]. pädiatrie schweiz. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.paediatrieschweiz.ch/news/covid-19-schulmassnahmen-4-welle/
  4. Fisman D, Tuite A. Age-Specific Changes in Virulence Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern. MedRxiv 2021.09.25.21264097
  5. Twohig KA, Nyberg T, Zaidi A, Thelwall S, Sinnathamby MA, Aliabadi S, et al.; COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium. Hospital admission and emergency care attendance risk for SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) compared with alpha (B.1.1.7) variants of concern: a cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Aug;S1473-3099(21)00475-8.
  6. Delahoy MJ, Ujamaa D, Whitaker M, O’Halloran A, Anglin O, Burns E, et al.; COVID-NET Surveillance Team; COVID-NET Surveillance Team. Hospitalizations Associated with COVID-19 Among Children and Adolescents - COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020-August 14, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Sep;70(36):1255–60. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7036e2
  7. COVID Data Tracker [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#mis-national-surveillance
  8. L’Huillier A. COVID-19 in the pediatric population. International conference on prevention and infection control (ICIPC), Geneva, Switzerland, 14 September 2021.
  9. Wissenschaftliches Update. 20. Juli 2021 – Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 29]. Available from: https://sciencetaskforce.ch/wissenschaftliches-update-20-juli-2021/
  10. von Hammerstein AL, Aebi C, Barbey F, Berger C, Buettcher M, Casaulta C, et al. Interseasonal RSV infections in Switzerland - rapid establishment of a clinician-led national reporting system (RSV EpiCH). Swiss Med Wkly. 2021 Sep;151(35-36):w30057.
  11. Molteni E, Sudre CH, Canas LS, Bhopal SS, Hughes RC, Antonelli M, et al. Illness duration and symptom profile in symptomatic UK school-aged children tested for SARS-CoV-2. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2021 Oct;5(10):708–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00198-X
  12. Radtke T, Ulyte A, Puhan MA, Kriemler S. Long-term Symptoms After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Adolescents. JAMA. 2021 Jul;326(9):869–71. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.11880
  13. Updated estimates of the prevalence of post-acute symptoms among people with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK - Office for National Statistics [Internet]. Ons.gov.uk. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/technicalarticleupdatedestimatesoftheprevalenceofpostacutesymptomsamongpeoplewithcoronaviruscovid19intheuk/26april2020to1august2021
  14. Ciao Corona. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.ciao-corona.ch/3-testreihe
  15. Stringhini S, Zaballa M, Pullen N, Perez-Saez J, et al. Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies six months into the vaccination campaign in Geneva, Switzerland. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.12.21261929v1
  16. COVID-19. Teststrategie für Kinder unter 12 Jahren - pädiatrie schweiz. pädiatrie schweiz. 2020 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.paediatrieschweiz.ch/news/covid-19-teststrategie-fur-kinder-2/)
  17. Schweiz P. 2021 [Internet] [cited 2021 Sep 29]. Available from: https://cdn.paediatrieschweiz.ch/production/uploads/2020/06/2020.06.17-Testkriterien-Kinder-D.pdf
  18. Scientific update, August 17, 2021 https://sciencetaskforce.ch/wissenschaftliches-update-17-august-2021/. 2021 [cited 2021 Oct 1]. Available from: https://sciencetaskforce.ch/wissenschaftliches-update-17-august-2021/
  19. COVID-⁠19 Switzerland | Coronavirus | Dashboard [Internet]. Covid19.admin.ch. 2021 [cited 2021 Oct 1]. Available from: https://www.covid19.admin.ch/en/vaccination/breakthrough
  20. Children’s Task and Finish Group. update to 4th Nov 2020 paper on children, schools and transmission [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: 18. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/948617/s0998-tfc-update-to-4-november-2020-paper-on-children-schools-transmission.pdf
  21. COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools [Internet]. Aap.org. 2021 [cited 2021 Oct 1]. Available from: https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/
  22. Villers J, Henriques A, Calarco S, Rognlien M, Mounet N, Devine J, et al. SARS-CoV-2 aerosol transmission in schools: the effectiveness of different interventions. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.17.21262169v2
  23. Gurdasani D, Alwan N, Greenhalgh T, Hyde Z, Johnson L, McKee M, et al. School reopening without robust COVID-19 mitigation risks accelerating the pandemic [Internet]. The Lancet. 2021 [cited 2021 Oct 1]. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/cms/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00622-X/attachment/524b9f7e-5847-4cc2-9cac-75d4beeff556/mmc1.pdf
  24. Lessler J, Grabowski MK, Grantz KH, Badillo-Goicoechea E, Metcalf CJ, Lupton-Smith C, et al. Household COVID-19 risk and in-person schooling. Science. 2021 Jun;372(6546):1092–7. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abh2939
  25. Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Positive Topline Results From Pivotal Trial of COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 5 to 11 Years | Pfizer [Internet]. Pfizer.com. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-positive-topline-results
  26. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Children and masks [Internet]. World Health Organization 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-children-and-masks-related-to-covid-19
  27. Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools and ECE Programs [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html
  28. Villani A, Bozzola E, Staiano A, Agostiniani R, Del Vecchio A, Zamperini N, et al. Facial masks in children: the position statement of the Italian pediatric society. Ital J Pediatr. 2020 Sep;46(1):132. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-020-00898-1
  29. Republique Française. Quand un enfant de 6 ans doit-il porter le masque? [cited 2021 October 4]. https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A14422
  30. Mask use and ventilation improvements to reduce COVID-19 incidence in elementary schools – Georgia, November 16-December 11, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2021 [cited 2021 October 1]. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e1.htm
  31. Bogdanovica TS, Zemitis J, Bogdanovics R. The effect of CO2 concentration on children’s well-Being during the process of learning. Energies. 2020;13(22):6099. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226099
  32. McGee RS, Homburger JR, Williams HE, Bergstrom CT, Zhou AY. "Model-driven mitigation measures for reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2021, 118.39: e2108909118.
  33. Scientific update of 21 September 2021 – Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force [Internet]. Sciencetaskforce.ch. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 29]. Available from: https://sciencetaskforce.ch/en/scientific-update-of-21-september-2021/