The seasonal flu hit San Ysidro High School math teacher Kathleen Monagan just before Thanksgiving break. She was only surprised she鈥檇 avoided it as long as she had.
鈥淚 get a lot of wipes. I use sanitizer like it鈥檚 going out of style, but I just feel like, you know it鈥檚 gonna be impossible,鈥� Monagan said from her couch in San Diego. 鈥淥ther people and kids have been sick since September, October, and so when I finally got it, I was like, 鈥極K, OK. It鈥檚 time.鈥欌��
Schools are expected to face an array of seasonal bugs this winter, from common colds and influenza to COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), viral pneumonias, and even pertussis鈥攖he 鈥渨hooping cough鈥� or 鈥�100-day cough.鈥� Teachers, studies show, are both at higher risk of catching the latest bug and more likely to continue working while sick than other professionals, even health care workers and flight attendants.
Whether teachers can 鈥減ut their own mask on first鈥� and stay healthy can make the difference in both curbing outbreaks and keeping up instruction.
Teachers are both uniquely vulnerable to, and can have more resilience to, seasonal bugs, said Dr. C. Buddy Creech, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases and the director of vaccine research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
They experience more stress than other professionals, which can reduce their immune system鈥檚 ability to ward off illness. And they get exposed to pretty much anything that comes down the pike, experts say.
鈥淲hen we look at influenza annual epidemics, what we definitely know is that where it all starts is in schools. Kids get a little [virus], they take it to school, and all the people within that environment are the ones at risk,鈥� said Jason Newland, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital at Ohio State University.
Schools have always been one of the chief hot spots for spreading respiratory and other viruses. A hundred years after the school-accelerated spread of the 1918 Spanish Flu, U.S. schools closed their doors in an attempt to curb COVID.
Teachers and administrators got a lot of practice in basic infection control during the COVID pandemic鈥攕uch as hand-washing, sanitizing, and mask-wearing鈥攂ut schools have not kept all of those protocols for more recent respiratory outbreaks, even severe ones, Newland said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a big increase in mycoplasma pneumonia, or 鈥榳alking pneumonia,鈥欌�� Newland said. 鈥淭ons of people have had it, but I don鈥檛 think that triggered anybody to say, 鈥楬ey, we should probably have people put masks on.鈥欌��
Likewise, while many schools recently upgraded their heating and air conditioning systems, Creech said many don鈥檛 circulate classroom air frequently enough to keep teachers from getting sick from a roomful of sneezing students.
For the most part, it is now up to individual teachers to decide whether to stay home or mask up when they get sick. Compared to other professions, teachers are more likely to work through illness鈥攁nd many teachers also say they don鈥檛 feel empowered to take their available sick leave.
For her part, Monagan hunkered down with humidifiers and blankets for a few days and counted her blessings. 鈥淚 mean, at least it鈥檚 not COVID,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking that as a win and trying to just be positive about that.鈥� She was already planning how to catch up on work when she got back to class.
Creech and Newland said teachers can do a lot to keep themselves healthy this winter:
- Remember lessons learned. 鈥淚 go back to what we鈥檝e learned during the pandemic,鈥� Newland said. 鈥淲e learned that washing our hands, wearing a mask, and staying apart when we鈥檙e sick and being vaccinated was our greatest protection.鈥�
- Think broadly about immunizations. Some viruses, like RSV, previously thought of as primarily dangerous for young children, have in recent years caused more severe symptoms for older adults, too. The doctors recommended teachers make sure their vaccinations are up to date not only for COVID and flu, but also illnesses like RSV, pertussis, and measles.
- Recruit extra cleaning. Getting students in the habit of wiping down their frequently used surfaces at the end of each day can help reduce the spread of fomites鈥攂its of viral particles. 鈥淭hink of when a student picks his nose and rubs it on the desk,鈥� Creech said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a great deal of attention in the schools that I鈥檝e worked with on more substantial cleaning efforts of those high-touch surfaces, because most of these pathogens can live for hours to days to even weeks.鈥�
- Use alternate instruction. All of the virtual learning tricks teachers learned during school closures can be helpful. Many teachers like Monagan said they post lectures and assignments to online platforms, which can make it easier to keep instructional continuity for student who are home sick, as well as the whole class when the teacher is out.
Even if teachers do get sick, that frequent exposure may help boost teachers鈥� immunity in the long run鈥攐ne reason why new teachers, and teachers of younger students, often get sick more often than veteran teachers, Creech said.
