Under the Right Conditions, Center-Based Child Care is an Unlikely COVID-19 Threat to Staff

Abstract

* Abbreviation: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 Research on coronavirus transmission from young children to adults in child care settings is largely based on case reports with limited generalizability,1,2 impeding evidence-based assessment of infection risk to child care providers. Gilliam et al3 address these limitations in their multistate study of 57 335 child care providers reporting on exposures, risk mitigation strategies in the workplace, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection from March through May 2020. The team solicited child care providers through contact lists provided by national child care organizations and state child care workforce registries, conducted 3 rounds of surveys, and collected data on key variables including exposure to child care (provided child care during the pandemic compared to program closure) and COVID-19 infection based on a positive test result or hospitalization for COVID-19. Respondents who had exposure to child care services from March through May also reported numerous infection prevention strategies, such as class size reduction, masking, and disinfection practices. This exposure was not associated with odds of COVID-19 infection in both unmatched and propensity score matched analyses that accounted for community … Address correspondence to Heather L. Tubbs-Cooley, PhD, RN, FAAN, College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, 1585 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210. E-mail: tubbscooley.1{at}osu.edu