• Charles Weijer, Karla Hemming, Phillips HeySpencerSHarvard Center for Bioethics, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA., and Fernandez LynchHollyH0000-0001-7813-9879Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA..
• Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, and Philosophy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
• Clin Trials. 2021 Jun 1; 18 (3): 371-376.

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges of evidence-based health policymaking, as critical precautionary decisions, such as school closures, had to be made urgently on the basis of little evidence. As primary and secondary schools once again close in the face of surging infections, there is an opportunity to rigorously study their reopening. School-aged children appear to be less affected by COVID-19 than adults, yet schools may drive community transmission of the virus. Given the impact of school closures on both education and the economy, schools cannot remain closed indefinitely. But when and how can they be reopened safely? We argue that a cluster randomized trial is a rigorous and ethical way to resolve these uncertainties. We discuss key scientific, ethical, and resource considerations both to inform trial design of school reopenings and to prompt discussion of the merits and feasibility of conducting such a trial.

22 keywords...

hide…