Urban Classification, Not COVID-19 Community Rates, Was Associated With Modes of Learning in US K-12 Schools?

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with the decision to provide in-person, hybrid, and remote learning in kindergarten through 12th grade school districts during the 2020-2021 school year. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study evaluating school district mode of learning and community coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) incidence and percentage positivity rates at 3 time points during the pandemic: (1) September 15, 2020 (the beginning of the school year, before Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance); (2) November 15, 2020 (midsemester after the release of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and an increase of COVID-19 cases); and (3) January 15, 2021 (start of the second semester and peak COVID-19 rates). Five states were included in the analysis: Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The primary outcome was mode of learning in elementary, middle, and high schools during 3 time points. The measures included community COVID-19 incidence and percentage positivity rates, school and student demographics, and county size classification of school location. RESULTS: No relationship between mode of learning and community COVID-19 rates was observed. County urban classification of school location was associated with mode of learning with school districts in nonmetropolitan and small metropolitan counties more likely to be in-person. CONCLUSIONS: Community COVID-19 rates did not appear to influence the decision of when to provide in-person learning. Further understanding of factors driving the decisions to bring children back into the classroom are needed. Standardizing policies on how schools apply national guidance to local decision-making may decrease disparities in emergent crises.

A systematic review of whether COVID-19 randomized controlled trials reported on demographic and clinical characteristics.

PURPOSE: We aim to assess the reporting of key patient-level demographic and clinical characteristics among COVID-19 related randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We queried English-language articles from PubMed, Web of Science, clinicaltrials.gov, and the CDC library of gray literature databases using keywords of "coronavirus," "covid," "clinical trial" and "randomized controlled trial" from January 2020 to June 2021. From the search, we conducted an initial review to rule-out duplicate entries, identify those that met inclusion criteria (i.e., had results), and exclude those that did not meet the definition of an RCT. Lastly, we abstracted the demographic and clinical characteristics reported on within each RCT. RESULTS: From the initial 43 627 manuscripts, our final eligible manuscripts consisted of 149 RCTs described in 137 articles. Most of the RCTs (113/149) studied potential treatments, while fewer studied vaccines (29), prophylaxis strategies (5), and interventions to prevent transmission among those infected (2). Study populations ranged from 10 to 38 206 participants (median = 100, IQR: 60-300). All 149 RCTs reported on age, 147 on sex, 50 on race, and 110 on the prevalence of at least one comorbidity. No RCTs reported on income, urban versus rural residence, or other indicators of socioeconomic status (SES). CONCLUSIONS: Limited reporting on race and other markers of SES make it difficult to draw conclusions about specific external target populations without making strong assumptions that treatment effects are homogenous. These findings highlight the need for more robust reporting on the clinical and demographic profiles of patients enrolled in COVID-19 related RCTs.