There have been solely 5 COVID-19 outbreaks at San Francisco colleges because the starting of the college 12 months and the return to in-person schooling, the San Francisco Division of Public Well being advised SFGATE.
In every outbreak, fewer than 5 college students or employees had been concerned, and in each incident, circumstances had been “both delicate to average sickness,” with none requiring hospitalization, SFDPH added.
It’s an unbelievable feat for San Francisco colleges, which cater to 1000’s of scholars. The San Francisco Unified College District alone educates greater than 57,000 college students yearly.
San Francisco hospitals paint a equally optimistic image. In accordance with UCSF Medical Heart, the most important hospital within the metropolis, solely 12 pediatric COVID sufferers had been admitted to the hospital between June 14 and Sept. 14, a UCSF spokesperson mentioned.
The constructive information comes as college districts across the nation are seeing a troubling rise in COVID circumstances amongst college students and employees. In Houston, for instance, there have been greater than 800 energetic COVID infections amongst college students and 104 amongst employees as of Sept. 24 (Houston Impartial College District educates about 197,000 college students a 12 months). Texas doesn’t have a statewide masks mandate for colleges, although Houston does, nor does the state require employees members to be vaccinated in opposition to COVID. HISD didn’t reply to a query about employees vaccination charges.
Why has San Francisco been so profitable in stopping the unfold of COVID in colleges?
For one, San Francisco colleges have mandated that college students and employees put on masks through the college day. SFUSD has additionally required that each one employees members be totally vaccinated or get examined. As of early September, 96% of employees who reported their vaccination standing by the Aug. 31 deadline had been vaccinated. And on Friday, the town introduced its plans for vaccinating youngsters ages 5 to 11 as soon as the Federal Drug Administration offers Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization for youngsters, which it’s anticipated to do quickly.
In an announcement, SFUSD acknowledged that San Francisco is dwelling to a number of the world’s high public well being consultants.
“We acknowledge that so long as there may be COVID in the neighborhood, there might be circumstances in colleges. By prioritizing and investing in COVID-19 mitigation efforts — together with offering PPE to each college website, operationalizing one of many largest COVID-19 testing efforts in San Francisco, and bettering air flow in colleges — we will maintain our communities as secure as doable,” the assertion mentioned.
Dr. Naveena Bobba, the deputy director of well being for SFDPH, supplied one clarification for the small caseload at San Francisco colleges.
“In California there have been much less outbreaks and positively much less pediatric circumstances,” she mentioned.
In August, she continued, pediatric circumstances made up simply 13% of COVID circumstances.
“A part of that I believe is because of our nice vaccination charges,” she mentioned. “As a result of under-12s aren’t but in a position to get vaccinated, [the key] is to make sure everybody round them is vaccinated.”
At the moment, 81% of eligible San Franciscans are totally vaccinated, whereas 90% of 12- to 17-year-olds within the metropolis are totally vaccinated, Bobba mentioned.
“That basically decreases college transmission,” she mentioned of the excessive variety of vaccinated teenagers.
Bobba additionally cited the state’s vaccine and testing mandate, which she mentioned “affords an enormous layer of safety,” in addition to masking.
“All these layers of safety assist scale back the chance,” she mentioned. “It’s not ever going to be zero, and you will notice some minor outbreaks, however we will include it and we’re doing all the pieces to lower danger.”
