Child care centers unlikely source of spreading COVID-19: study

A new study found child care centers are an unlikely source for spreading COVID-19, leading researchers to suggest the current testing and isolation recommendations can be revised to align with those for other serious respiratory viruses.

Research led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh found kids in child care centers play a “small role” in spreading COVID-19 to their households.

The study of 83 children and their household contacts across 11 child care centers found the COVID-19 infection rate was about 2.7 to 3 percent within child care centers, suggesting neither children nor caregivers were frequently spreading the virus to others in the center. Furthermore, of the 30 household infections observed during the period, only five, or 17 percent, were acquired from three students who contracted COVID-19 in their child care centers.

Whereas if someone in a household had COVID-19, its spread to other members of the household was high, at around 50 percent for children and 67 percent for adults.

“It is interesting that such a contagious virus was transmitted at low rates in child care centers and was an uncommon reason for household infections because it goes against conventional wisdom and medical knowledge we have about other serious respiratory viruses,” said lead author Timothy Shope, M.D., M.P.H. in a statement. “In households, the higher rates can be explained by much more prolonged and closer contact, especially with sick children.”

Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises a child with COVID-19 symptoms such as congestion, running nose or other respiratory issues should be tested for the virus and if positive, be kept home for at least five days.

In the wake of the study, researchers suggested these recommendations be revised to align with those for other serious respiratory viruses.

“No one wants to give up on controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread, but focusing on testing and long exclusion periods for children in child care centers appears to be unnecessary, while subjecting families to the expense of frequent testing, absence from work and lost wages, and loss of education and socialization for children,” Shope said.

The study was conducted from April 22, 2021 through March 31, 2022 in 11 child care centers, including five in Pittsburgh, Pa., and six in Ann Arbor, Mich.

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