Ventilation Improvement Strategies Among K-12 Public Schools - The National School COVID-19 Prevention Study, United States, February 14-March 27, 2022.
| Autor: | Pampati S, Rasberry CN, McConnell L, Timpe Z, Lee S, Spencer P, Moore S, Mead KR, Murray CC, Deng X, Iachan R, Tripathi T, Martin SB Jr, Barrios LC |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report [MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep] 2022 Jun 10; Vol. 71 (23), pp. 770-775. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 10. |
| DOI: | 10.15585/mmwr.mm7123e2 |
| Abstrakt: | Effective COVID-19 prevention in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools requires multicomponent prevention strategies in school buildings and school-based transportation, including improving ventilation (1). Improved ventilation can reduce the concentration of infectious aerosols and duration of potential exposures (2,3), is linked to lower COVID-19 incidence (4), and can offer other health-related benefits (e.g., better measures of respiratory health, such as reduced allergy symptoms) (5). Whereas ambient wind currents effectively dissipate SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) outdoors,* ventilation systems provide protective airflow and filtration indoors (6). CDC examined reported ventilation improvement strategies among a nationally representative sample of K-12 public schools in the United States using wave 4 (February 14-March 27, 2022) data from the National School COVID-19 Prevention Study (NSCPS) (420 schools), a web-based survey administered to school-level administrators beginning in summer 2021. † The most frequently reported ventilation improvement strategies were lower-cost strategies, including relocating activities outdoors (73.6%), inspecting and validating existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (70.5%), and opening doors (67.3%) or windows (67.2%) when safe to do so. A smaller proportion of schools reported more resource-intensive strategies such as replacing or upgrading HVAC systems (38.5%) or using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems in classrooms (28.2%) or eating areas (29.8%). Rural and mid-poverty-level schools were less likely to report several resource-intensive strategies. For example, rural schools were less likely to use portable HEPA filtration systems in classrooms (15.6%) than were city (37.7%) and suburban schools (32.9%), and mid-poverty-level schools were less likely than were high-poverty-level schools to have replaced or upgraded HVAC systems (32.4% versus 48.8%). Substantial federal resources to improve ventilation in schools are available. § Ensuring their use might reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools. Focusing support on schools least likely to have resource-intensive ventilation strategies might facilitate equitable implementation of ventilation improvements. Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Kenneth R. Mead and Stephen B. Martin, Jr. report multiple roles on technical and standard committees within ASHRAE. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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