Ventilation Improvement Strategies Among K–12 Public Schools — The National School COVID-19 Prevention Study, United States, February 14–March 27, 2022

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Pampati, Sanjana ; Rasberry, Catherine N. ; McConnell, Luke ; Timpe, Zach ; Lee, Sarah ; Spencer, Patricia ; Moore, Shamia ; Mead, Kenneth R. ; Murray, Colleen Crittenden ; Deng, Xiaoyi ; Iachan, Ronaldo ; Tripathi, Tasneem ; Martin, Stephen B. ; Barrios, Lisa C.
• Description:
  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.
• Subjects:
  Air Conditioning Air Pollution, Indoor COVID-19 Humans SARS-CoV-2 Schools Ventilation
• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 71(23):770-775
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7123e2
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  35679198
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9181051
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Volume:
  71
• Issue:
  23
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:924a02787033556743496a75cd774023d789338b01f68619d0ee7d12b36bbb8a653d9838d753973b906f1c7932aa167dbab3d843532ff66bc65c8670a7b229e7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/118564/cdc_118564_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 118.26 KB ]