COVID-19 Education Study (CCS-2)

Status: Data collection complete, analysis ongoing Study Results French site

Are you an Ontario teacher or education worker affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Study design	Number of participants	Study period
Prospective cohort	3875	February 2021 – December 2023

What was the purpose of this study?

To determine how many people working in the elementary and secondary schools in Ontario developed COVID-19 infections and the risk factors for infection, to describe the changes to antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 over time, the incidence of re-infection, the uptake of vaccines against COVID-19, and the psychological impact of working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who was eligible to participate?

People who worked for or with a school or school board in Ontario who:

Were 18 to 74 years old and
Worked anywhere in the Ontario education system for ≥8 hours per week

Inclusive of English or French, Catholic or non-denominational, publicly-funded or independent schools and school boards.

Data collected

Respiratory illness episodes, with COVID-19 test results
Risk factors for testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (personal, household, workplace, and community)
Blood samples to detect cases of asymptomatic or undiagnosed COVID-19 and changes in antibody levels (over time, after vaccinations and illnesses)
Levels of distress while working during the COVID-19 pandemic

Who funded this study?

Study investigators

Dr. Brenda Coleman, PhD (Sinai Health & University of Toronto)
Dr. Allison McGeer, MD (Sinai Health & University of Toronto)
Dr. Robert Maunder, MD (Sinai Health & University of Toronto)
Dr. Sharon Straus, MD (Unity Health & University of Toronto)
Dr. Susan Bondy, PhD (University of Toronto)
with the invaluable assistance of our staff: Kailey Fischer, MSc, Evelyn, Susan, Chloe, Kanchan, Iris, Veronica, and Nicole.

THANK YOU MERCI BEAUCOUP

The study investigators and everyone who worked on the CCS-2 would like to sincerely thank all participants for the time and effort they put into helping us collect data about their experiences during the last 2½ years of the SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot adequately express our gratitude.

We also thank the National Microbiology Laboratory for their collaboration and support of this study.