School Absenteeism as a Marker for Community COVID-19 Rates

• Published in: Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society 2023-12, Vol.12 (Supplement_2), p.S9-S13
• Main Authors: Stark, Ashley, Benjamin, Daniel K, Kajencki, Anthony, Mann, Katelyn, Rodriguez, Natalie, Troan, Ian, Hill, Larry, Boutzoukas, Angelique E, Zimmerman, Kanecia O
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2048-7207; 2048-7207
• DOI: 10.1093/jpids/piad072

Abstract Background Reported community transmission rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may not be accurate, particularly since at-home testing has become widely available. School absenteeism may serve as a marker of broader community COVID-19 transmission. Methods We performed an observational study of North Carolina kindergarten through 12th grade schools participating in the ABC Science Collaborative that offered in-school instruction, and contributed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 data for at least 2 of 4 weeks monthly for the 2021–2022 academic year. Additionally, we analyzed publicly available databases including the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Data Repository, and National Center for Education Statistics. We described community and school COVID-19 infection rates compared with student monthly absenteeism rates to determine if the relationship between community COVID-19 infection rates and student absenteeism varied over time. Results We included 500 192 students from 27 school districts. For the 2021–2022 academic year, the student and community COVID-19 infection rates did not show a significant difference (P > .05) across each month of comparison. Student absenteeism rates and community COVID-19 infection rates by month showed a similar trend across the academic year. For every 1% increase in community infection percentage, we found a 1.68% (1.12–2.25%) increase in absenteeism (P