During the pandemic, researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), and the Mary Cariola Center, a special education school in Rochester, NY, looked at ways to study ways to prevent COVID infection among these children, a particularly vulnerable population. The COVID pandemic was a particularly difficult balancing act for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) and their families. The COVID pandemic was a particularly difficult balancing act for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Good airflow and filtration in schools may help children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their teachers avoid COVID infections, a new study finds. Many of these children are at heightened risk for infection, but they may also struggle with protective measures, like masking and distancing.
The researchers found classrooms that relied on the more porous air filters had higher numbers of total COVID cases. However, the study was not designed to test if infections were acquired in or outside of school. Since conducting the study, the Mary Cariola Center has been working on several fronts to improve ventilation in any areas of concern across their campus. They have also pursued state funding and begun conversations with property owners to make overall improvements to the ventilation systems. This study focused on testing airflow and filtration was part of a larger project funded by the National Institutes of Health Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations program.
