CDC Suggests Transmission Risk Lower At Elementaries Than High Schools

The Hill: CDC Study Finds COVID-19 Outbreaks Aren't Fueled By In-Person Classes 
A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in-person classes at K-12 schools do not appear to lead to increases in COVID-19 when compared with areas that have online-only learning. The CDC study noted that in the week beginning Dec. 6, coronavirus cases among the general population in counties where K-12 schools opened for in-person learning were similar to rates in counties that were online only. (Hellmann, 1/13)

NBC New York: Risk Of Reopening Schools For Young Kids May Be Lower Than High School, College: CDC 
A new report released Wednesday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that COVID-19 transmission risk is low in school and that risk is even lower for younger children. After studying trends to see how the novel coronavirus spread among young people ages 0-24 years old across the U.S. from March to December, researchers found that there is a lower risk for transmission among younger kids that's associated with reopening child care centers and elementary schools. In contrast, transmission among 18-24 year olds was higher than other age groups. (1/14)

But cases among children are rising —

Boston Globe: CDC: Coronavirus Cases Among Children, Young Adults Have Risen Since The Summer
Coronavirus cases among children and young adults have risen nationwide since the summertime, prompting researchers to call for strict adherence to universal mask wearing in schools to promote safe in-person learning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The information was contained in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Wednesday. “To enable safer in-person learning, schools and communities should fully implement and strictly adhere to multiple mitigation strategies, especially universal and proper mask wearing, to reduce both school and community COVID-19 incidence to help protect students, teachers, and staff members from COVID-19,” the report said. (Andersen, 1/13)

The New York Times: Infections Remain Comparatively Rare Among Children But Are Rising, The C.D.C. Says.
After falling over the summer, coronavirus infections among children, teens and young adults rose steadily from September through mid-December, paralleling the virus’s trajectory among older adults in the U.S. population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday. Of 2.8 million coronavirus infections diagnosed in children and young adults under the age of 25 between March 1 and Dec. 12, 2020, the incidence was lowest among children ages 10 and younger, who accounted for 18 percent of the cases. The majority of infections in those under 25 — nearly 60 percent — were among young adults aged 18 to 24, the study found. (Rabin, 1/13)

In related news —

AP: Calls To Reopen Classrooms Grow As Teachers Get Vaccinated
State leaders around the U.S. are increasingly pushing for schools to reopen this winter — pressuring them, even — as teachers begin to gain access to the vaccine against the raging pandemic. Ohio’s governor offered to give vaccinations to teachers at the start of February, provided their school districts agree to resume at least some in-person instruction by March 1. In Arizona, where teachers began receiving shots this week, the governor warned schools that he expects students back in the classroom despite objections from top education officials and the highest COVID-19 diagnosis rate in the nation over the past week. “We will not be funding empty seats or allowing schools to remain in a perpetual state of closure,” said Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. “Children still need to learn, even in a pandemic.” (Whitehurst, Tang and Breed, 1/14)