Tribune. We, scientists, caregivers, patient association, educators and parents, are concerned about the impact of the pandemic and the early abandonment of prevention measures on the education and health of children. In the face of the highly contagious Delta variant, it is crucial to keep schools open and safe, by adopting and maintaining measures to minimize the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, as the World Health Organization notes. (WHO) and repeat it by the Scientific Council and the Vaccine Strategy Steering Committee (COSV), in their attached opinion.
Data from the UK, Canada and the US indicate that the lack of sufficient mitigation measures spreads infections, especially among unvaccinated children.
Based on a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), places where masks are not compulsory at school are seeing an increase in pediatric cases and the probability of school closings increases by 250%.
Risk of an epidemic
In England, without a mask and without class closure if the case is confirmed, more than 100,000 students were absent in a single week. These repeated absences interfere with learning more than wearing a mask or limiting brewing.
While the epidemic is on the decline in France, due in particular to vaccination, this is not the case in unvaccinated and not yet eligible children for whom the incidence rate is three times higher than in 2020 at the same time; it now exceeds that of adults (by a factor of 5 in some departments).
In only 24 of the 47 departments where the mask will be abandoned in school, the weekly incidence rate among 6-10 year olds was less than 50 per 100,000 as of September 30. Cases among 0-9 year olds reached for the first time the same proportion as among 10-19 year olds or 20-29 year olds, and are increasing in several territories. Pediatric hospitalizations, although declining, are at levels comparable to the peaks of the first and third waves.
The current data do not allow to exclude the conclusions of the modeling of the Pasteur Institute and the scenario envisaged by the opinion of the Scientific advice for the start of the school year. The risk of a pediatric epidemic could coincide with increased pressure on the healthcare system during the winter. The government has a duty to protect children, the community and caregivers from the impact of a likely fifth wave. As recalled Public health France, in a context of declining adherence to barrier measures, to maintain the current epidemic dynamic, increased vigilance is necessary: in addition, therefore in an enclosed, mixed and often poorly ventilated place such as schools.
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