School Health News

A small study published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that children aged younger than 5 years carry higher amounts of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their nasopharynx compared with youths aged 5 to 17 years and adults aged 18 to 65 years.

Data suggest that spring school closures may have been associated with approximately 1.37 million fewer cases of COVID-19 in the United States over a period of 26 days and 40,600 fewer deaths from the disease over 16 days, researchers said.

As the start of the new school year quickly approaches in the United States, parents of children with diabetes are trying to figure out how their child’s needs will be met when classes begin.

The CDC issued what it called “new science-based resources and tools” to supplement its guidelines for reopening schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AAP issued interim guidance to advise pediatricians and parents about the risks and benefits of children returning to athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asthma prevalence estimates were 10 percentage points higher among children with a developmental disability or delay than among children without one, according to a study in JAMA Network Open.

CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, said the CDC is not revising guidelines on reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic but would provide “different reference documents” for parents, caregivers and schools.

El Paso, Texas, used community-based interventions, clinical referrals and partnership referrals through schools and organizations to improve HPV vaccination rates among adolescents, researchers reported.

Study findings from California indicate that parents may be using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, to help them apply for medical vaccine exemptions for their children, researchers reported.

Practicing pediatricians have been using telehealth technology to communicate with patients who are not able to physically visit offices because of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Infectious Diseases in Children asked Editorial Board Member Eugene Shapiro, MD, professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine, if patients should pay the same amount for a telehealth visit as they would for an in-person visit.