Study of the Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Teachers and Education Workers in Elementary and Secondary Schools in Ontario

The objectives of this study are: * To estimate the rate of previous exposure to COVID-19 as evidenced by the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in teachers and education workers at enrolment (February or March, 2021); * To identify workplace (e.g., level of student contact, school/class size, age of pupils, school-wide protective measures), community (e.g., rates of infection, outbreak level), household (e.g., number of housemates, housemates’ exposures, confirmed COVID-19 infections), and individual (e.g., age, health status, individual protective measures) risk and protective factors for COVID-19 in teachers and education workers; * To determine the incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 infection in teachers and education workers between February or March 2021 and February or March 2022; * To estimate the incidence of asymptomatic infection in teachers and education workers between February or March 2021 and February or March 2022 as measured by seroconversion to anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies; * To describe the psychological impact of working during an outbreak of a novel respiratory virus; * To describe the changes in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over a one-year follow-up period in participants who have detectable antibodies measured at baseline; * To determine the percentage of teachers and education workers who intend to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (at baseline); and * To determine the incidence of and factors associated with re-infection (exploratory objective).

Overview

Acronym
CCS-2
Website
CCS-2
Investigators
Dr. Brenda Coleman
University of Toronto
Dr. Allison McGeer
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
Dr. Robert Maunder
University of Toronto
Dr. Sharon Straus
St. Michael’s Hospital
Dr. Susan Bondy
University of Toronto
Contacts
Dr. Brenda Coleman
University of Toronto

General Design

Study design
Cross-sectional
Start - End Year
2021 - 2022
General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
Participants who tested negative (Cohort A) or positive (Cohort B) for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 at enrolment will be followed for 12 months: biweekly, every 13 weeks, prior to – and 30 days after – receipt of each COVID vaccine (as possible).
Recruitment Target
  • Individuals
Number of Participants
7,000
Number of Participants with Biological Samples
7,000
Supplementary Information
The study is a cross-sectional study (Phase I) followed by two nested prospective cohort sub-studies (Phase II).

Access

Availability of data and biosamples

Possible Access to Data
Possible Access to Biosamples
Other

Supplementary Information

French: http://www.tibdn.ca/covid-19/education-fr

Timeline

Population

CCS-2 population
The population is composed of teachers and education workers (educational assistants, school office staff, custodians, librarians, early childhood educators), aged between 18-74 years old, in Ontario.

Selection Criteria

Minimum age
18
Maximum age
74
Countries
  • Canada
Canadian Provinces
  • Ontario
Health Status
  • Do not have a bleeding disorder, have not had chemotherapy in the past 4 weeks, and have not had a bilateral mastectomy
Other Criteria
Inclusion: employed in any capacity by an Ontario public school board or independent school; work, on average, at least 8 hours per week and can be available for at least the next 3 months after enrolment

Sources of Recruitment

Specific Population
  • Other specific population : Teachers and education workers
Supplementary Information
Participants were recruited by advertising of the study to key partners membership, using a variety of media including inclusion in emails and updates and posting on their website and social media sites; promoting the study through stories about the study and interviews on radio, newspapers, and television, and posting on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Sample Size

Number of Participants
7,000
Number of Participants with Biological Samples
7,000
Supplementary information about number of participants
Phase I: 7000 participants
Phase II Cohort A: 6650 participants
Phase II Cohort B: 350 participants

Data Collection Events

# Name Data sources Data sources - Biosamples Start End
0 CCS-2 - Phase I Baseline
  • Questionnaires
  • Administrative databases
  • Other : Statistics Canada
2021 (January) 2021 (February)
1 CCS-2 - Phase II Follow-up 1
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Administrative databases
  • Other : Statistics Canada
  • Blood
2021 (March) 2021 (May)
2 CCS-2 - Phase II Follow-up 2
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Administrative databases
  • Other : Statistics Canada
  • Blood
2021 (June) 2021 (August)
3 CCS-2 - Phase II Follow-up 3
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Administrative databases
  • Other : Statistics Canada
  • Blood
2021 (September) 2021 (November)
4 CCS-2 - Phase II Follow-up 4
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Administrative databases
  • Other : Statistics Canada
  • Blood
2021 (December) 2022 (February)
5 CCS-2 - Phase II Vaccination
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Blood
2021 (June) 2022 (March)
6 CCS-2 - Phase II 30-days post-vaccination
  • Biosamples
  • Blood
2021 (June) 2022 (March)
7 CCS-2 - Phase II Biweekly reports
  • Questionnaires
2021 (January) 2022 (March)

Participating Studies

Acronym Name Study design Countries

Harmonization Initiatives Included

Acronym Name

Datasets

Name Data Collection Events Variables

Areas of Information Collected

Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Death
Lifestyle and behaviours
Physical measures and assessments
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Laboratory measures
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Diseases
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Symptoms and signs
Preschool, school and work life
Medication and supplements
Social environment and relationships
Non-pharmacological interventions
Physical environment
Health and community care services utilization
Administrative information

Variables Content Summary

Areas of Information Collected
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected

Networks

Acronym Name Harmonization Initiatives Individual Studies
Last Update: 2024-02-27T06:33:40.449