Two observational studies cast doubt on the effects of school closures to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Study 1: No causal effect of school closures in Japan on the spread of COVID-19 in spring 2020 – Nature Medicine

Study 2: The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality – Nature Medicine

Commentaries on Twitter

Results from a study in the US published in @NatureMedicine indicate that schools can reopen for in-person learning without substantially increasing community case rates of SARS-CoV-2. However, the impacts are variable and more study is needed. https://t.co/NFt1vNNb76 pic.twitter.com/fNgsJn6WLg

— Nature Portfolio (@NaturePortfolio) October 27, 2021

(thread – click for more)

2 new @NatureMedicine papers
First from half of US public school data
"Schools can open for in-person learning during the pandemic with minimal contribution to sustained community incidence of infections, provided other public safety measures are adopted."https://t.co/gn8MzrYVxE pic.twitter.com/qGfQLMzDEW

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 27, 2021