February 10, 2021

The Science of COVID-19 in Childcare

The question is weighing on the minds of parents, teachers, administrators and communities across the world: is it safe for children in childcare and school settings?

Our 12 schools have been open the entire time. We are proud that the education and care for young children has been mostly uninterrupted within our walls. We are working hard to keep it that way with serious COVID-19 mitigation tactics at each school.

A new study of children of essential workers who attended childcare in France during their first lockdown shed some interesting light on the spread of the virus among children. The authors of this study found that:

• Most children likely contracted the virus from an adult household member previously confirmed with the virus. All of the daycares included in the study were opened for the children of essential workers only.
• The presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was low among infants and preschoolers. Data on antibodies is seen as a more accurate reflection of infection rates, since it includes those who were infected, but asymptomatic.

This follows a study released in October 2020 that surveyed 57,000 child care providers and found no “heightened risk” of coronavirus transmission if safety practices were followed.

Of course, this research doesn’t include COVID-19 variants and is no way conclusive. Every family has to make the best decision for themselves. To find the LeafSpring School nearest to you, enter your zip code into our school locator.