Author
Selina Becht
Bio: Selina Becht is an academic researcher from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The author has contributed to research in topics: Epidemiology & Cross-sectional study. The author has co-authored 1 publications.
Papers
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TL;DR: In this article, a simple approach was proposed to disentangle the effect of school closures from other lockdown measures on the pandemic course based on publicly available data in Germany, which was calculated based on the actual weekly number of all cases and the pre-lockdown proportion of paediatric cases.
Abstract: Background In addition to widely used basic hygiene measures in school,
school closures are applied to contain SARS-CoV-2 spread, although the effect on
the pandemic is unclear. We proposed a simple approach to disentangle the effect
of school closures from other lockdown measures on the pandemic course based on
publicly available data in Germany. Methods We used data on the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases from the onset of
the pandemic to 14th April 2021. We compared the proportion of children
(5–14 years old) in all cases prior to the lockdown measures, including
school closure, to that during a ten-week lockdown in Germany. The total number
of paediatric cases occurring during lockdown was compared to the number
expected in absence of school closures. The latter was calculated based on the
actual weekly number of all cases and the pre-lockdown proportion of paediatric
cases. Results The proportion of children in all cases was 2.3 percentage points
lower at the nadir than the proportion before the lockdown. The estimated total
number of paediatric cases prevented by school closures was estimated at 13,246
amounting to 24% of the expected cases in absence of school
closures. Conclusion School closure during the winter lockdown reduced the number of
expected SARS-CoV-2 cases in children in absence of school closures. The
contribution of these prevented cases to the total population incidence is
small. These data might provide the basis to model the effect of school closures
in addition to basic hygiene measures on the course of the COVID-19
pandemic. Hintergrund Schulschliesungen werden neben den
herkommlichen Hygienemasnahmen (AHA-Regeln) eingesetzt, um die
Verbreitung des Virus SARS-CoV-2 einzudammen. Der Effekt von
Schulschliesungen auf das Pandemiegeschehen ist derzeit noch nicht
ausreichend untersucht. Wir stellen eine einfache Herangehensweise vor, um den
Effekt der Schulschliesungen, unabhangig von anderen
Lockdown-Masnahmen, auf den Pandemieverlauf abzubilden. Die verwendeten
Daten sind in Deutschland offentlich zuganglich. Methoden Fur
die Untersuchungen verwenden wir die SARS-CoV-2-Fallzahlen ab Pandemiebeginn bis zum
14. April 2021. Wir verglichen die Falle unter Kindern (5–14 Jahre)
im Verhaltnis zu der Gesamtfallzahl vor den Lockdown-Masnahmen,
einschlieslich der Schulschliesungen, mit dem Verhaltnis
wahrend des zehnwochigen Lockdowns in Deutschland. Die absolute
Anzahl der padiatrischen Falle wahrend des Lockdowns
stellten wir der Anzahl der erwarteten Falle ohne Schulschliesungen
gegenuber. Letzteres berechneten wir auf Basis der tatsachlichen
wochentlichen Fallzahlen und dem Anteil der padiatrischen
Falle vor dem Lockdown. Ergebnisse Im Vergleich zum Anteil der
padiatrischen Falle vor dem Lockdown, verringerte sich dieser
wahrend des Lockdowns am Nadir um 2,3 Prozentpunkte. Die geschatzte
Anzahl der padiatrischen Falle, die durch Schulschliesungen
verhindert wurden, lag bei 13 246. Dies entspricht 24% der erwarteten
Falle bei einem Verzicht auf
Schulschliesungen. Schlussfolgerung Schulschliesungen wahrend
des Winterlockdowns reduzierten die Anzahl der SARS-CoV-2 Falle unter den
Kindern. Im Vergleich mit der Gesamtinzidenz konnte nur eine kleine Anzahl der
Falle verhindert werden. Die Daten konnen eine Grundlage fur
ein Modell zur Ermittlung der Auswirkungen von Schulschliesungen, neben den
herkommlichen Hygienemasnahmen (AHA-Regeln), auf den Verlauf der
Pandemie darstellen.
4 citations
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TL;DR: The findings suggest that the risk of ME/CFS after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents may be small and that recall bias may contribute to risk estimates.
Abstract: Key Points Question Is SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity associated with symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in children and adolescents? Findings This cross-sectional study of hospital-based SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence surveys in Germany compared seropositive and seronegative children and adolescents and identified an excess of possible ME/CFS symptoms with serological evidence of preceding SARS-CoV-2 infection. This association almost disappeared with adjustment for confounders and restriction to children and adolescents unaware of preceding infection. Meaning These findings suggest that the risk of ME/CFS after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents may be small and that recall bias may contribute to risk estimates.
2 citations
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TL;DR: The introduction of COVID-19 vaccination for age-eligible children has afforded increased opportunities for disease prevention, and highlighted the need for primary care clinicians to serve as advocates for their young patients and their communities as discussed by the authors .
2 citations
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TL;DR: The introduction of COVID-19 vaccination for age-eligible children has afforded increased opportunities for disease prevention, and highlighted the need for primary care clinicians to serve as advocates for their young patients and their communities as discussed by the authors .
2 citations
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors discussed the tasks, objectives and perception of politics and the German national vaccination advisory committee regarding vaccination of children are discussed in the face of summarized recent data on clinical manifestations of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents in Germany, which could be estimated by combining different German data sources.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic posed special challenges for the existing structures for vaccination prevention in Germany with respect to 1) understanding the role and aims of those involved and the interests of the children and 2) the definition of adequate criteria and assessment of the risk of severe diseases in children.Do the priorities of different groups of interest differ in the recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination? Which data on the pathogenicity of different variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2) are necessary and how did they change during the pandemic?The tasks, objectives and perception of politics and the German national vaccination advisory committee regarding vaccination of children are discussed in the face of summarized recent data on clinical manifestations of pediatric SARS-CoV‑2 infections among children and adolescents in Germany, which could be estimated by combining different German data sources.The perspectives of politics and children differ but are legitimate when they are clearly stated. The decisive risk for a severe course or the pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV‑2 (PIMS-TS) per 10,000 SARS-CoV‑2 infections for the decision on vaccination from the perspective of children, decreased during the course of the pandemic with dominance of the omicron variant. Severe courses of COVID-19 still predominantly affect children with underlying diseases. The age-stratified analysis of vaccinated and nonvaccinated children showed that the alterations in the pathogenicity of the virus in the course of the pandemic is particularly reflected in the reduction in the risk of PIMS-TS. The general reduction of severe courses of COVID-19 again can be explained by the characteristics of variants of concern (VOC) as well as increasing vaccination rates and immunity following a SARS-CoV‑2 infection.The primary goal of COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents is the prevention of severe courses of the disease. In pediatric risk groups the best possible immunity or immune protection by vaccination should be strived for. It is currently unclear whether catch-up vaccination in already infected or vaccinated children or whether forthcoming healthy children will need vaccination, aiming for hybrid immunity.
2 citations
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyzed isolation and quarantine orders by the local public health agency in Berlin-Reinickendorf (Germany) and their dependence on the recommendations by the Robert Koch Institute, the national public health institute.
Abstract: Isolating COVID-19 cases and quarantining their close contacts can prevent COVID-19 transmissions but also inflict harm. We analysed isolation and quarantine orders by the local public health agency in Berlin-Reinickendorf (Germany) and their dependence on the recommendations by the Robert Koch Institute, the national public health institute. Between 3 March 2020 and 18 December 2021 the local public health agency ordered 24603 isolations and 45014 quarantines (mean contacts per case 1.9). More days of quarantine per 100 inhabitants were ordered for children than for adults: 4.1 for children aged 0-6, 5.2 for children aged 7-17, 0.9 for adults aged 18-64 and 0.3 for elderly aged 65-110. The mean duration for isolation orders was 10.2 and for quarantine orders 8.2 days. We calculated a delay of 4 days between contact and quarantine order. 3484 of contact persons were in quarantine when they developed an infection. Our study quantifies isolation and quarantine orders, shows that children had been ordered to quarantine more than adults and that there were fewer school days lost to isolation or quarantine as compared to school closures. Our results indicate that the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute had an influence on isolation and quarantine duration as well as contact identification and that the local public health agency was not able to provide rigorous contact tracing, as the mean number of contacts was lower than expected.
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TL;DR: In this paper , the authors discuss potential school calendar change in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which a year-round or extended school calendar could counteract learning loss, addressing achievement gaps, reducing viral transmission, and supporting vulnerable student populations.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a period for reexamination of how the world schools its children. Policy makers are considering how to address myriad challenges during this tenuous post-COVID era in primary and secondary education. This paper discusses potential school calendar change in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Modifying the traditional school calendar to a balanced approach has been attempted and scrutinized for decades providing varying results on academic achievement. The question is whether a year-round or extended school calendar could counteract COVID-19 learning loss, in addition to addressing achievement gaps, reducing viral transmission, and supporting vulnerable student populations.