Vaccines are banishing any doubt about reopening schools

Another problem is the frequent confusion of the idea We don’t know from the clinical trials whether COVID-19 vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection with the idea COVID-19 vaccines don’t stop transmission. Beyond the sheer biological plausibility that a vaccine-mediated immune response would block viral replication in your nose—through which you are most likely to spread the virus—as effectively as it blocks replication elsewhere in the body, researchers now have powerful data from the real-world vaccine rollout indicating that vaccination will reduce spread (from asymptomatic infection), as well as symptomatic disease. A recent article in The Lancet showed that health-care workers in the United Kingdom who were swabbed every two weeks after vaccination demonstrated an 86 percent reduction in asymptomatic infection compared with unvaccinated individuals. Other data, from health-care workers based in Israel and across the Mayo Clinic system, show a similar result: a massive reduction in both symptomatic disease and asymptomatic infection after vaccination. A study from Israel across a more general population during an early vaccine rollout confirms that 89.4 percent of infections are prevented with vaccination (including asymptomatic). In clinical trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 74.2 percent effective in preventing asymptomatic infection. Furthermore, nasal viral loads from post-vaccination exposures are low and likely noninfectious because of the body’s immune defenses rushing in to halt viral replication. With every passing week, vaccines will prevent more disease transmission, and our messaging can change accordingly. However, the number of stories lamenting whether vaccinated grandparents can hug their unvaccinated grandchildren speaks to our failure to absorb this data and move forward with optimism.

Finally, the debate over school openings—which shouldn’t be a debate at all—does not incorporate what scientists have learned about the pandemic. Despite a wealth of data from the CDC and other countries suggesting that opening schools is safe for teachers and students with mitigation procedures applied, many districts across the country, especially on the West Coast, have failed to reopen. Oregon and California have no clear path in sight for schools to return to in-person learning. The latter has maintained more stringent and prolonged lockdowns during COVID-19 than any other state in the U.S. and, like many other places, has expressed panic regarding variants. Furthermore, most states have not told their residents that life could pivot toward normalcy for the vaccinated. Oregon teachers recently indicated that they would not return to in-person instruction even after vaccination. Continued fear-based messaging and policies in certain states are likely creating needless anxiety for students, parents, and teachers.