A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on July, 23, 2021 showed the importance of vaccinations for school staff. The report, based on a study of the School District of Philadelphia(PA), examined infection rates in school staff who were vaccinated and unvaccinated. When in-person schooling resumed the week of March 21, 2021, the school district required all employees to have weekly COVID-19 screening tests. The resumption of in-school instruction followed a mass vaccination program using the Pfizer-BioNTech 2-dose vaccine offered under a partnership between the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to all 22,808 School District of Philadelphia employees during February 23, 2021 through April 3, 2021. The percentage of positive test results was lower among persons who reported receipt of two vaccine doses compared with those who reported receipt of one dose or zero doses In fact, there was a 95% lower percentage of positive test results among persons who reported receiving two doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine than among those who were not fully vaccinated.

To view the full report on the CDC website, click here.