National and regional prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in primary and secondary school children in England: the School Infection Survey, a national open cohort study, November 2021SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in school children

Powell, Annabel A; Ireland, Georgina; Leeson, Rebecca; Lacey, Andrea; Ford, Ben; Poh, John; Ijaz, Samreen; Shute, Justin; Cherepanov, Peter; Tedder, Richard S.; Bottomley, Christian; Dawe, Fiona; Mangtani, Punam; Jones, Peter; Nguipdop-Djomo, Patrick; Ladhani, Shamez; Ahmad, Shazaad; Baawuah, Frances; Beckmann, Joanne; Brent, Andrew; Brent, Bernadette; Garstang, Joanna; Okike, Ifeanyichukwu; Brown, Kevin E.; Ramsay, Mary; Bonell, Chris; Cook, Sarah; Warren‐Gash, Charlotte; Phelan, Jody; Hargreaves, James; Langan, Sinéad M; Sundaram, Neisha; McClenaghan, Elliot; McKay, Gillian; Edmunds, John; Fine, Paul E. M.

doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2023.02.016

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In brief, we planned to enrol 13 primary and 7 secondary schools in each of England’s nine geographic regions from October 2021 aiming to reach a target of 180 schools. This target was reached through sample size calculations based on a primary outcome of antibody prevalence which are reported elsewhere [ 11 ]. All pupils aged 4 years and over were invited to participate.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-COVID-19 condition and persisting symptoms in English schoolchildren: repeated surveys to March 2022

et al. 2023

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Background Both post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) and the presence of persisting symptoms that do not meet formal definitions of post-COVID-19-condition may adversely affect quality of life and function. However, their prevalence among children and young people in England is unclear. Methods We used data from repeated surveys in a large cohort of English schoolchildren from the COVID-19 Schools Infection Survey (SIS) for the school year 2021/22 to describe the weighted prevalence of post-COVID-19-condition and compare persisting symptoms between individuals with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and those with neither a positive test history nor suspected infection. Results Among 7797 children from 173 schools, 1.8% of primary school pupils (aged 4 to 11 years), 4.5% of secondary school pupils in years 7–11 (aged 11 to 16 years) and 6.9% of those in years 12–13 (aged 16 to 18 years) met a definition of post-COVID-19 condition in March 2022. Specific persisting symptoms such as anxiety or difficulty concentrating were frequently reported regardless of prior infection status and increased with age: 48.0% of primary school pupils, 52.9% of secondary school pupils in years 7–11 and 79.5% in years 12–13 reporting at least one symptom lasting more than 12 weeks. Persisting loss of smell and taste, cardiovascular and some systemic symptoms were more frequently reported by those with a previous positive test. Conclusions We showed that ongoing symptoms were frequently reported by English schoolchildren regardless of SARS-CoV-2 test results and some specific symptoms such as loss of smell and taste were more prevalent in those with a positive test history. Our study emphasises the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%