An unvaccinated California teacher caused a COVID outbreak that infected half of his class

A single unvaccinated teacher at a school in Northern California triggered an outbreak of COVID-19 in May that infected 26 more people, including a total of 18 students, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

News of the surprising and rapid spread to the school and the families of the students emerged as administrators faced regulations on vaccines and masks for another school year in front of Republican rulers blocking the mandates of the masks.

At least 90,000 students across the country have already been quarantined earlier this school year after contracting COVID-19 or being potentially exposed to the coronavirus. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children accounted for more than one in 5 new cases last week.

The case recently examined by the CDC involved a Marin County school with 205 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Although the school’s teachers and students had to wear masks and maintain social distancing inside, the unidentified teacher who caused the infections had removed his mask “sometimes” to read aloud to the school. his class, the CDC noted. The study noted that students ’desks were placed six feet away, windows were left open, and all classrooms had high-efficiency air filters.

The professor worked on May 19 and 20 while experiencing the first symptoms of COVID-19 before testing positive and taking sick leave. On May 22, students also began experiencing symptoms, the CDC reported.

Of the teacher’s 24 students, 12 tested positive; eight of them were sitting in the front two rows of the classroom.

Six additional students from another degree also tested positive. Parents and siblings of students in both grades were also infected. Three of the adults who tested positive were completely vaccinated, according to the CDC.

“The introduction of the virus into the classroom by a teacher … although it was both symptomatic and unvaccinated, and which was unmasked when read aloud in class, led to cases in the classroom , across the school and among student families, ”CDC principal Rachel Walenksy said Friday at a White House COVID-19 briefing.

“We know how to protect our children in school,” he added. “We have the tools.”

Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin County NCO, said officials have been urging teachers to be vaccinated since January, but many had not. “We saw first hand that it was not children who had to make teachers sick. It would be the opposite, “Santora told CNN.

Among those who tested positive for the outbreak, 81% reported symptoms, including fever, cough, headache and sore throat, according to CDC. No one was hospitalized.

The outbreak “highlights the importance of vaccinating school staff members who are in close inner contact with children not eligible for vaccination as schools reopen,” the CDC study warned. such as “increased transmissibility and potential for rapid spread of the delta variant, especially in unvaccinated populations.”