The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools
The national influenza pandemic response plan includes short-term school closures as an infection mitigation measure, based on modeling data regarding the role of pediatric populations and schools as drivers of disease spread. Modeled estimates regarding the role of children and their in-school cont...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2732494X23001547/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797838942766104576 |
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| author | Westyn Branch-Elliman Lloyd Fisher Shira Doron |
| author_facet | Westyn Branch-Elliman Lloyd Fisher Shira Doron |
| author_sort | Westyn Branch-Elliman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The national influenza pandemic response plan includes short-term school closures as an infection mitigation measure, based on modeling data regarding the role of pediatric populations and schools as drivers of disease spread. Modeled estimates regarding the role of children and their in-school contacts as drivers of community transmission of endemic respiratory viruses were used in part to justify prolonged school closures throughout the United States. However, disease transmission models extrapolated from endemic pathogens to novel ones may underestimate the degree to which spread is driven by population immunity and overestimate the impact of school closures as a means of reducing child contacts, particularly in the longer-term. These errors, in turn, may have caused incorrect estimations about the potential benefits of closing schools on a society level while simultaneously failing to account for the significant harms of long-term educational disruption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:50:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e31550861b0741bd96eb037d977646af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2732-494X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:50:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e31550861b0741bd96eb037d977646af2023-04-26T12:21:11ZengCambridge University PressAntimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology2732-494X2023-01-01310.1017/ash.2023.154The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schoolsWestyn Branch-Elliman0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9658-5124Lloyd Fisher1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6246-8213Shira Doron2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9139-0857Department of Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsReliant Medical Group, Worcester, Massachusetts Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MassachusettsTufts Medical Center, Boston, MassachusettsThe national influenza pandemic response plan includes short-term school closures as an infection mitigation measure, based on modeling data regarding the role of pediatric populations and schools as drivers of disease spread. Modeled estimates regarding the role of children and their in-school contacts as drivers of community transmission of endemic respiratory viruses were used in part to justify prolonged school closures throughout the United States. However, disease transmission models extrapolated from endemic pathogens to novel ones may underestimate the degree to which spread is driven by population immunity and overestimate the impact of school closures as a means of reducing child contacts, particularly in the longer-term. These errors, in turn, may have caused incorrect estimations about the potential benefits of closing schools on a society level while simultaneously failing to account for the significant harms of long-term educational disruption.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2732494X23001547/type/journal_article |
| spellingShingle | Westyn Branch-Elliman Lloyd Fisher Shira Doron The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology |
| title | The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| title_full | The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| title_fullStr | The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| title_short | The next ‘pandemic playbook’ needs to prioritize the needs of children—and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| title_sort | next pandemic playbook needs to prioritize the needs of children and a clear roadmap for opening schools |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2732494X23001547/type/journal_article |
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