An Unmasked, Unvaccinated California Teacher Spread COVID to Elementary School Students: CDC Report

A California teacher that was unmasked and not vaccinated infected a group of elementary students with the Delta variant of COVID-19 and others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.

On May 25, the Marin County Department of Health (MCPH) was notified by an elementary school that on May 23, an unvaccinated teacher had reported receiving a positive test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the CDC reported. 

The teacher, who was not identified, reported becoming symptomatic on May 19, with a “cough, subjective fever, and headache,” but initially attributed the symptoms to allergies and continued to work, People reported. 

During those two days the teacher was feeling unwell they continued to read aloud to the children in the classroom unmasked, despite the school mandate to wear masks indoors. Each of the students that were exposed to the teacher were too young to have been vaccinated, according to the CDC.

On May 21, when the teacher took a COVID test the results came back positive. Beginning on May 23, some of her students from the class of 24 were testing positive for the virus, as well as some staff members, parents, and siblings connected to the school, a report said. 

According to the CDC, a total of 27 cases were identified, including that of the teacher. The breakdown included 12 students from the teacher’s class; six students from a different grade and eight parents and siblings of the students. Twenty-two of the 27 cases reported symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, and headache, People reported. 

The CDC said with the exception of the infected teacher and one other teacher at the school, the rest of the school’s staff members were vaccinated.

”This outbreak of COVID-19 that originated with an unvaccinated teacher highlights the importance of vaccinating school staff members who are in close indoor contact with children ineligible for vaccination as schools reopen," the CDC stated in their report.

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