‘We essentially have two epidemics going on right now, one is in school children and their parents’ generation’
October 7, 2021
Covid-19 cases are falling among almost every age group in England, apart from school children and their parents’ generation.
The rise in cases among school children is so pronounced that it has essentially created two separate levels of Covid-19, with one cohort exposed to transmission among the unvaccinated young, and the other continuing to see cases at a low level.
As the winter half term approaches, there are fears that the self-contained epidemic among school children and their parents may spill out into other more vulnerable age groups.
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Professor Christina Pagel, director of the Clinical Operational Research Unit at UCL, said: “We essentially have two epidemics going on right now, one is in school children and their parents’ generation, and those are the only age groups which are going up and everyone else is going down. The question is what happens next. Does it start going into the grandparent’s generation?”
The exponential rise in Covid-19 cases among school children is in stark contrast to elsewhere in Europe, where many countries vaccinated younger age groups far earlier than in the UK. Less than 2 per cent of under-18s are fully vaccinated, compared to around one in five under-18s in Ireland and Spain.
Even in England, the earlier roll-out of jabs to those aged between 16 and 17 had a clear effect on Covid-19 cases, with cases falling after a short rise once schools returned in September. At the same time cases in 12–15-year-olds have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
More than 10 per cent of school children have been off absent on any single day since schools reopened in September. The rate of attendance is considerably higher than at this point last year but is still below pre-pandemic levels. In the 2018/19 school year an average of 5 per cent of pupils were not in class. The high levels of absence as well as rising cases have thrown doubt on whether the Government is doing enough to ensure that children’s education isn’t disrupted by the pandemic.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “’Despite its promises, the Government has not done enough to slow the spread through measures such as mask wearing, roll-out of carbon dioxide monitors and improved ventilation.
“The Government’s continued failure to improve ventilation in schools leaves staff and pupils needlessly exposed to higher risks of illness and further disruption to education.” The Government has stated that it is committed to striking a balance between managing transmission risk and reducing face-to-face disruption.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are working with parents and school and college staff to maximise students’ time in the classroom – encouraging uptake of testing and the vaccine for 12-15-year-olds, and contracting specialist attendance advisers to work on strategies to improve attendance where problems are identified.”
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