BMJ: Teachers not at greater risk of hosp'n, and lower risk of severe disease, than general population

[Kokeshi123]

www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2060?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Unlike previous studies, this one actually looked at periods when schools were open and compared like-with-like for those periods.

Compared with adults of working age who are otherwise similar, teachers and their household members were not found to be at increased risk of hospital admission with covid-19 and were found to be at lower risk of severe covid-19. These findings should reassure those who are engaged in face-to-face teaching.

This should not be taken to mean that we should do schooling with no mitigations whatsoever--I'd be in favor of doing indoor masks for kids and teachers till the winter is over if it was up to me, and ventilation is always a good thing anyway. However, at least this should provide some reassurance for teachers and families. And in my opinion, this kind of thing should settle the argument on having any further school closures; mitigations are one thing, but schools absolutely must remain open IMO.

Will you be reporting Xenia’s post then, Achilles?

"At end of the month I will be entering the lecture theatre/seminar room to teach students face to face. I will do it without grumbling or complaining as I realise, like all my colleagues, the benefits of education not just to individual students but wider society as a whole far outweigh the risks of Covid."

Good for you. If your institution is anything like my husband's, staff haven't done any face-to-face teaching for the last 18 months, so please don't be lecturing those of us who've been in crowded, frequently unventilated, classrooms with children throughout the entire pandemic.

@CallmeHendricks

"At end of the month I will be entering the lecture theatre/seminar room to teach students face to face. I will do it without grumbling or complaining as I realise, like all my colleagues, the benefits of education not just to individual students but wider society as a whole far outweigh the risks of Covid."

Good for you. If your institution is anything like my husband's, staff haven't done any face-to-face teaching for the last 18 months, so please don't be lecturing those of us who've been in crowded, frequently unventilated, classrooms with children throughout the entire pandemic.

👏 👏 👏

@CallmeHendricks

"At end of the month I will be entering the lecture theatre/seminar room to teach students face to face. I will do it without grumbling or complaining as I realise, like all my colleagues, the benefits of education not just to individual students but wider society as a whole far outweigh the risks of Covid."

Good for you. If your institution is anything like my husband's, staff haven't done any face-to-face teaching for the last 18 months, so please don't be lecturing those of us who've been in crowded, frequently unventilated, classrooms with children throughout the entire pandemic.

Absolutely this.

At end of the month I will be entering the lecture theatre/seminar room to teach students face to face. I will do it without grumbling or complaining as I realise, like all my colleagues, the benefits of education not just to individual students but wider society as a whole

Ah yes, because lecture theatres where you are standing at the front, staying at the front and in large rooms is exactly the same as being in smaller classrooms with packed in schoolchildren.

In addition, primary and secondary school staff know exactly how important education is, which is why they have physically been with pupils, even when just vulnerable/keyworker children, since March 2020 and yet university lecturers haven’t been. Funny that…

"Clearly the government just want to kill off all teachers so they’ve taken away the only things that were able to offer you any protection and sent you, unarmed, into the fray."

I have to say that, joking apart, it does feel a bit that way at times.

@noblegiraffe

You’ve been doom and gloom about schools for the last year, noble

Do you mean the period last year where infections ran out of control in schools and they had to close from Jan to March? Where I was quite right to be doomy, it turned out?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post anything positive. Even when the schools weren’t being closed.

That’s fine @Geamhradh. Not sure what ‘misinformation’ you’re referring to but you can point it out next time :)

@noblegiraffe

Will you be reporting Xenia’s post then, Achilles?

Of course I won’t. I’d don’t dislike scientists either. I work closely with scientists on sustainability solutions like carbon capture storage. I’m much more concerned about the risks of climate change than Covid. Some people are too blinkered to see how climate change will impact them at an individual level like Covid has. Stopping or disrupting education will pose a much bigger long term risk for the plant in terms of creating climate solutions than Covid ever will.

@CallmeHendricks

"At end of the month I will be entering the lecture theatre/seminar room to teach students face to face. I will do it without grumbling or complaining as I realise, like all my colleagues, the benefits of education not just to individual students but wider society as a whole far outweigh the risks of Covid."

Good for you. If your institution is anything like my husband's, staff haven't done any face-to-face teaching for the last 18 months, so please don't be lecturing those of us who've been in crowded, frequently unventilated, classrooms with children throughout the entire pandemic.

Exactly this. I find it insulting to be lectured about ‘benefits of education’ by someone who has not done f2f teaching since March 2020, while I (as a CV teacher, initially fully isolating) have been in the classroom since June 1st 2020, including during the last lockdown.

*planet not plant (but I do house plants too!).

*like!

@ChloeDecker

Basically, we now need to get on with it, stop testing kids routinely

Well, you’re in luck as this is what is already being put in place, as in, we are getting on with it and young people are not being ‘routinely tested’ bar the start of term. Doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it or consider what might be the consequences of this approach.

I believe the UK recommends that all secondary-school pupils to take two LTFs per week at home. No?

It was not compulsory before either (I know parents who did not sign up to it), but I believe most people complied.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post anything positive.

About the management of schools during the pandemic? Don’t know if you’ve noticed but they’ve been a bit of a mess?

Am I supposed to post ‘super excited about these CO2 monitors that I’m sure are imminent, they’ll really help’? People would suspect sarcasm.

Of course I won’t. I’d don’t dislike scientists either. I work closely with scientists on sustainability solutions like carbon capture storage.

That going over your head is the point.

@cantkeepawayforever do you want schools to stay shut then until Covid has disappeared? Even with mitigation’s there will be risks. You’ll be up having the same discussion for the next 20 years while much bigger problems come along that will make you soon forget about Covid.

Also it wasn’t our choice to end face to face teaching for university students. It’s been a frustrating year for students and lecturers alike.

University lecturers don’t just give lecture but also seminars and significantly more of them than lectures. We’ll be in small rooms with students as well.

*sorry mitigations not bloody mitigation’s.

@ByThePool2021

I think we know we are at no greater risk of hospitalisation due to, on the whole, being quite young. You don’t find many teachers age 50+, most where I work are 25-45. However, are we at greater risk of catching it? Just because you aren’t hospitalised doesn’t mean it’s just a mild cold. It can still mean 2-3 weeks laid up in bed and who knows the long term effects - I know 2 people personally who have both been medically diagnosed with long covid. That’s still a horrible position to be put in

I am 53! I am sure there are plenty of teachers that that are in their 50's

Schools need mitigations.
We need ventilation - more than just windows.
Class sizes need to be smaller.
Children need to wear masks.

With the new variant and zero mitigations, teachers are definitely more at risk.

I know now, I'm not going to avoid it.
I have elderly parents to care for.
I have children at school.
I am destined.

The elderly parents that I will spread it to. Quite worrying.

@noblegiraffe

Of course I won’t. I’d don’t dislike scientists either. I work closely with scientists on sustainability solutions like carbon capture storage.

That going over your head is the point.

For heaven’s sake you’re blaming one group of people, children, for spreading Covid. Chris Whitty et al have all said that young children are much less likely to spread Covid than adults, at least the original variant. I don’t know a single child that’s had Covid. I know plenty of adults who have. I’m sure you’ll be along with one of your infamous charts soon and bleating about school closures whilst screwing over an entire generation of children.

I have no trust in any data this govt relies on.
These are the same people who tell us that schools are not places of Covid transmission so kids can go back with zero precautions... based on research carried out when schools had bubbles, social distancing and (in some cases) mask wearing in place. Utterly mind-wobbling in its stupidity.

Of COURSE there will be transmission in schools and over the next 6 weeks, this WILL lead to:

• disruption in learning
• health impact on children, families and staff (even if most are 💉 💉)
• some school closures
• higher community rates
• more people with long Covid
• more kids in hospital
• higher death rates

It's not rocket science. No mitigation means greater transmission. 🤷‍♀️

I believe the UK recommends that all secondary-school pupils to take two LTFs per week at home. No?

LF testing by pupils at home is up for review at the end of September in England so may not continue. Take-up by the end of the summer was pretty low.

@noblegiraffe

I believe the UK recommends that all secondary-school pupils to take two LTFs per week at home. No?

LF testing by pupils at home is up for review at the end of September in England so may not continue. Take-up by the end of the summer was pretty low.

And judging by some of the posts on here many never did it. Some parents were so horrified at "subjecting their children to unnecessary testing".

People are fatigued at covid and restrictions. I get that.

What worries me more than the fatigues is people trying to justify having no mitigation's or that less people in a profession die than others as a reason to justify them refusing to take precautions now.

2Also it wasn’t our choice to end face to face teaching for university students. It’s been a frustrating year for students and lecturers alike."

And nor was it our choice in schools, contrary to popular belief on here.