When schools were open for in-person teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic - the nordic experience on control measures and transmission in schools during the delta wave

Abstract

Background: Extensive measures to control spread of SARS-CoV-2 have led to limited access to education for millions of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education and access to schools is vital for children and adolescents' learning, health, and wellbeing. Based on high vaccine uptake and low incidence levels, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) decided to start the academic year 2021/22 with schools open for in-person teaching and moderate mitigation measures. We describe trends in SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccination coverage among students during the first 12 weeks of the fall semester.

Methods: In this multinational, retrospective, observational study, we have used surveillance and registry data from each of the Nordic countries to describe vaccine uptake (≥12 years), infection incidence (whole population) and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among students. The study period, week 30 to 41 (Jul 26th - Oct 17th), represents the autumn semester from immediately before school started until fall break. In addition, we collected information on mitigation measures applied by the respective countries.

Results: There were slight variations between the countries regarding existing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, testing strategies and vaccination start-up among adolescents. All countries had high vaccine uptake in the adult population, while uptake varied more in the younger age groups. Incidence in the school-aged population differed between countries and seemed to be influenced by both vaccine uptake and test activity. Infection clusters among school-aged children were described for Denmark and Norway, and the number of clusters per week reflected the incidence trend of the country. Most events consisted of only 1-2 cases. Larger clusters appeared more frequently in the higher grades in Norway and in lower grades in Denmark.

Conclusion: Data from the Nordic countries indicate that vaccination of adults and adolescents, in addition to mitigation measures, enabled full in-person learning. As SARS-CoV-2 infection does not represent a severe medical risk for most children as previously thought, measures targeting this group should be carefully adjusted and kept at a minimum. Our data add to the evidence on incidence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among students in schools open for in-person teaching, and may be valuable for decision makers worldwide.

Keywords: COVID-19; Incidence trends; Mitigation measures; SARS-CoV-2; Schools; Vaccination.

Fig. 1

Incidence and vaccine uptake for each country, week 30–41 (Jul 26th – Oct 17th), 2021. Weekly number of cases per 100.000 (bar) and vaccine uptake (line), stratified by age groups (6–11, 12–15 and 16–17 years) according to vaccination priority. The figure also includes vaccine uptake (for dose 2) in adults (≥18 years). Black vertical line illustrates week of school start

Fig. 2

Incidence rate (new cases per 100.000) stratified for different age groups between week 30–41 (Jul 26th – Oct 17th), 2021 in the Nordic countries

Fig. 3

Number and distribution of new clusters in Denmark (A) and Norway (B) per two-week periods, stratified by cluster size, and incidence (new cases per 100.000) in the total population. Week 32–41 (Aug 9th – Oct 17th), 2021