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. 2021 Jul 8;11(7):e053245.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053245.

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among school and daycare children and personnel: protocol for a cohort study in Montreal, Canada

Kate Zinszer  1   2 , Britt McKinnon  2   3 , Noémie Bourque  2 , Monica Zahreddine  2 , Katia Charland  2 , Jesse Papenburg  4   5 , Geneviève Fortin  6 , Marie-Ève Hamelin  7 , Adrien Saucier  6   2 , Alex Apostolatos  8 , Laura Pierce  2 , Ashley Savard-Lamothe  6 , Julie Carbonneau  7 , Patricia Conrod  9   10 , Nancy Haley  11 , Isabelle Laurin  11 , Guy Boivin  7 , Gaston De Serres  12 , Caroline Quach  10   13
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among school and daycare children and personnel: protocol for a cohort study in Montreal, Canada

Kate Zinszer et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: Further evidence is needed to understand the contribution of schools and daycares for the spread of COVID-19 in the context of diverse transmission dynamics and continually evolving public health interventions. The Enfants et COVID-19: Étude de séroprévalence (EnCORE) study will estimate the seroprevalence and seroconversion of SARS-CoV-2 among school and daycare children and personnel. In addition, the study will examine associations between seroprevalence and sociodemographic characteristics and reported COVID-19 symptoms and tests, and investigates changes in health, lifestyle and well-being outcomes.

Methods and analysis: This study includes children and personnel from 62 schools and daycares in four neighbourhoods in Montreal, Canada. All children aged 2-17 years attending one of the participating schools or daycares and their parents are invited to participate, as well as a sample of personnel members. Participants respond to brief questionnaires and provide blood samples, collected via dried blood spot, at baseline (October 2020-March 2021) and follow-up (May-June 2021). Questionnaires include sociodemographic and household characteristics, reported COVID-19 symptoms and tests, potential COVID-19 risk factors and prevention efforts and health and lifestyle information. Logistic regression using generalised estimating equations will be used to estimate seroprevalence and seroconversion, accounting for school-level clustering.

Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the research ethics boards of the Université de Montréal (CERSES) and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine. Results will contribute to our knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools and daycares and will be made available to study participants and their families, school and public health decision-makers and the research community.

Keywords: COVID-19; community child health; epidemiology; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline for the Enfants et COVID-19: Étude de séroprévalence (EnCORE) study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Map of Montreal neighbourhoods by average school indice de milieu socioéconomique (IMSE) (socioeconomic index) versus cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100 000 (as of 30 June 2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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