SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Goldfarb David M. , Mâsse Louise C. , Watts Allison W. , Hutchison Sarah M. , Muttucomaroe Lauren , Bosman Else S. , Barakauskas Vilte E. , Choi Alexandra , Irvine Michael A. , Reicherz Frederic , Coombs Daniel , O’Reilly Collette , Sediqi Sadaf , Razzaghian Hamid R. , Sadarangani Manish , O’Brien Sheila F. , Lavoie Pascal M. 
Published: June 2021

Importance

Contact-tracing studies suggest minimal secondary transmission in schools. However, there are limited school data accounting for asymptomatic cases, particularly late in the 2020/21 school year, and in the context of uninterrupted in-person schooling and widespread community transmission.

Objectives

To determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in a sample of school staff, compared to the community, and to COVID-19 rates among all students and staff within the same school population.

Design

Incident COVID-19 cases among students and school staff using public health data, with an embedded cross-sectional serosurvey among school staff sampled from February 10 to May 15, 2021, comparing to age, sex and geographic location-matched blood donors sampled in January 2021.

Setting

Vancouver School District (British Columbia, Canada) from kindergarten to grade 12.

Participants

Active school staff enrolled from February 3 to April 23, 2021.

Main outcome measures

SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a sample of school staff using spike (S)-based testing (unvaccinated staff) or N-based serology testing (vaccinated staff).

Results

The incidence of COVID-19 cases among students attending in-person was 9.8 per 1,000 students during the 2020/21 school year (N = 47,280 students), and among staff was 13 per 1,000 since the beginning of the pandemic (N = 7,071 active school staff). In total, 1,689 school staff (64% elementary, 28% secondary, 8.3% school board staff or multiple grades) completed the questionnaire, 78.2% had classroom responsibilities, and spent a median of 17.6 hours in class per week [IQR: 5.0 – 25 hours]. Although 21.5% (363/1,686) reported close contact with a COVID-19 case, only 1.4% (24/1688) of the school staff reported having had a positive viral nucleic acid test. Of this group, five believed they acquired the infection at school. The adjusted seroprevalence in staff who gave blood (1,556/1,689, 92.1%) was 2.3% [95%CI: 1.6 – 3.2%] compared to 2.3% [95%CI: 1.7 – 3.0%] in blood donors.

Conclusion and relevance

Despite high reported COVID-19 cases among students and staff, and frequent within-school exposures, we found no detectable increase in seroprevalence among school staff above the community seroprevalence. These findings corroborate claims that, with appropriate mitigation strategies, in-person schooling is not associated with significantly increased risk for school staff.

Key Points

Question

What was the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in school staff who maintained in-person schooling during the 2020/21 school year in Vancouver, British Columbia, and how does it compare to the risk of COVID-19 infection in the community.

Findings

As of March 4, 2021, the incidence of COVID-19 cases among school staff was 13 per 1,000 (N = 7,071 school staff) since the beginning of the pandemic. In a cross-sectional seroprevalence analysis from February 10 to May 15, 2021, the adjusted seroprevalence among a sample of school staff (N = 1,556) was 2.3% [95%CI: 1.6 – 3.2%], compared to 2.3% [95%CI: 1.7 – 3.0%] in 1:2 age, sex and geographical location (by postal code)-matched reference group of blood donors.

Meaning

We found no detectable increase in seroprevalence among school staff above the community seroprevalence. These findings corroborate claims that, with appropriate mitigation strategies in place, in-person schooling is not associated with significantly higher risk for school staff.