ArticleBMC pediatrics2024
COVID-19 testing, incidence, and positivity trends among school age children during the academic years 2020-2022 in the State of Qatar: special focus on using CDC indicators for community transmission to evaluate school attendance policies and public health response.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Parent engagement in children's eye care behavior and vision-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Data collection in pediatric outpatient settings during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: motivators and barriers to establishing a research network of primary care providers.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- COVID-19 RT-qPCR-based screening in Austrian schools and incidences in the general population: a Bayesian spatiotemporal analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere exists a gap in our understanding of the age-dependent epidemiological dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 among school-age children in comparison to adults within the State of Qatar. Additionally, there has been limited assessment of the timely implementation of physical distancing interventions, notably national school closures, and their impact on infection trends.
methodsWe used the national database to capture all records of polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) testing, and rapid antigen tests (RAT) conducted at all health care venues in Qatar and administered between August 26, 2020, and August 21, 2022, across all age groups (≥ 5 years old). Study participants under 18 years old were categorized into two age brackets: (5-11) and (12-17), aligning with the Primary and Preparatory/Secondary grade levels in Qatar, respectively. We assessed age group testing rates, incidence rates, and positivity rates in relation to adults. These epidemiological metrics were compared with the CDC's thresholds for COVID-19 community transmission.
resultsThroughout the school years of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, a total of 5,063,405 and 6,130,531 tests were respectively conducted. In the 2020-2021 school year, 89.6% of the tests were administered to adults, while 13.7% were conducted on children in the following year. The overall test positivity rates for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years were 5.8% and 8.1%, respectively. Adolescents underwent the fewest tests during the full study period compared to both adults and young children. Using the CDC indicators, we found that children and adolescents can significantly contribute to elevated infection rates, potentially driving community transmission upon relaxation of social restrictions.
conclusionIt is crucial to acknowledge the potential for higher transmission among youth and adolescents when formulating transmission control strategies and making decisions regarding school closures. Employing data-driven indicators and thresholds to monitor COVID-19 community levels is important for informing decision-making. These approaches also enable the prompt implementation of infection control transmission mitigation measures in future pandemics.
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