Risk of death among teachers in England and Wales during the Covid19 pandemic

Lewis, S. J.; Dack, K.; Relton, C. L.; Munafo, M. R.; Davey Smith, G.

Objectives: To use publicly available data on mortality in England and Wales to estimate the extent of occupation risk from Covid19 among teachers and others working in schools. Design: Analysis of national death registration data from the Office for National Statistics. Setting: England and Wales from March 20th to 28th December 2020, during the Covid19 pandemic. Participants: We compared mortality rates among teachers and other school workers to all working aged people and all professional occupations. Primary and Secondary outcomes: Deaths with Covid19 was our primary outcome and death from all causes was our secondary outcome. Results: We found that the absolute mortality rates for deaths with Covid19 were generally low amongst teachers ([≤]39 per 100,000); they were also low relative to many other occupations. However, both male and female secondary school teachers had slightly higher risks of dying with Covid19 relative to all working aged people and greater risk compared to all professionals, primary school teachers did not have an elevated risk. The mortality risk for all causes was also higher in teachers compared to the working aged population. Excess deaths from all causes were higher among those aged over 65 who were working in schools compared to all over 65s who were currently working and compared to all professionals in this age group. Conclusion: There is weak evidence that secondary school teachers (in particular females) may have a slightly higher risk of Covid19 mortality, but compared to many other occupations their risk is low. Further research is needed to determine why there is a high proportion of excess of deaths which were apparently not due to Covid19 among over 65 year-olds working in schools.