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The title and narrative of this article is an egregious misreporting of the CDC report, and was obviously crafted to be divisive click bait. Pinning this exclu

The title and narrative of this article is an egregious misreporting of the CDC report, and was obviously crafted to be divisive click bait. Pinning this exclusively on the unvaccinated teacher is unfair and not supported by any hard facts from the CDC's investigation and findings [1]. 1) Causation was not established. The delta variant was likely circulating throughout the entire school. For example, kids across multiple grade levels tested positive (these kids are not in the same classrooms). Also parents and siblings tested positive. It's extremely plausible that the teacher was not the 'index' case, even considering symptom onset dates (many infections are asymptomatic especially in children). Most importantly, since the students were only tested after the teacher tested positive, the test results cannot determine who was the true index case. 2) All 3 vaccinated adults were symptomatic, which speaks to the fact that although the vaccines are still effective at preventing severe outcomes, the delta variant has undermined vaccine efficacy at preventing infection (decreasing from 91% to 66%) [2]. > Among the five infected adults, one parent and the teacher were unvaccinated; the others were fully vaccinated. The vaccinated adults and one unvaccinated adult were symptomatic 3) This teacher should not have been at work if she had symptoms, which is partly a reflection of school policies and the lacking benefits of many elementary school teachers in general (eg limited paid time off). [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm [2] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e4.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e4.htm

MilnerRoute 5y ago
For what it's worth, the Guardian says "Infections corresponded to the classroom’s seating chart, with the students sitting closest to the teacher the most likely to be infected." CNN supplies a little more information. "In the classroom of 22 students, 12 became infected -- including eight out of 10 students in the two front rows." https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/health/teacher-covid-students/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/health/teacher-covid-students...
- criticaltinker 5y ago
  Yes this information is in the CDC report, take a look at the seating chart with annotated infection and symptom status [1]. > 12 became infected Using the word became is disingenuous at best (and misinformation at worst) because it implies that causation was established, but it was not. Here is the exact language from the CDC report: > Students were seated in five rows; the attack rate in the two rows seated closest to the teacher’s desk was 80% (eight of 10) and was 28% (four of 14) in the three back rows (Fisher’s exact test; p = 0.036) Because the students were only tested after the teacher tested positive, there is no way to determine causation from positive test results. Even the evidence from genome sequencing could only establish correlation, but not causation. > Eleven sequences were genetically indistinguishable from one another [...] Among the indistinguishable specimens, six were from students of the index patient, four were from students in the separate grade, and one was from a sibling of a student in the index patient’s class, suggesting that infections occurring in the two grades likely were part of the same outbreak. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm#F1_down https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm#F1_down

MilnerRoute 5y ago

For what it's worth, the Guardian says "Infections corresponded to the classroom’s seating chart, with the students sitting closest to the teacher the most likely to be infected." CNN supplies a little more information. "In the classroom of 22 students, 12 became infected -- including eight out of 10 students in the two front rows." https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/health/teacher-covid-students/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/health/teacher-covid-students...

criticaltinker 5y ago
Yes this information is in the CDC report, take a look at the seating chart with annotated infection and symptom status [1]. > 12 became infected Using the word became is disingenuous at best (and misinformation at worst) because it implies that causation was established, but it was not. Here is the exact language from the CDC report: > Students were seated in five rows; the attack rate in the two rows seated closest to the teacher’s desk was 80% (eight of 10) and was 28% (four of 14) in the three back rows (Fisher’s exact test; p = 0.036) Because the students were only tested after the teacher tested positive, there is no way to determine causation from positive test results. Even the evidence from genome sequencing could only establish correlation, but not causation. > Eleven sequences were genetically indistinguishable from one another [...] Among the indistinguishable specimens, six were from students of the index patient, four were from students in the separate grade, and one was from a sibling of a student in the index patient’s class, suggesting that infections occurring in the two grades likely were part of the same outbreak. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm#F1_down https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm#F1_down