The New York Times: School Closures in the Spring Saved Lives, Study Asserts
UC pediatrics professor says study reviewed time frame before masks and social distancing encouraged
Closing schools across most of the U.S. in March, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, likely reduced infections by 1 million and saved more than 40,000 people from dying due to the virus, according to a new study from researchers at Cincinnati Children’s, the University of Cincinnati and Pediatric Research in Inpatient Settings Network in Ohio. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, come amid a worldwide debate on whether, when and how to reopen schools, including for some 56 million American students, kindergarten through high school.
The study’s authors include Katherine Auger, MD, attending physician in the Division of Hospital Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s and UC associate professor of pediatrics, and Samir Shah, MD, director of the division of hospital medicine at Cincinnati Children’s and UC professor of pediatrics. The study reviewed a period in schools before precautions such as smaller classes and mask usage were widely recommended. “At the time, there wasn’t any masking in schools, there wasn’t physical distancing, there wasn’t an increase in hygiene and that sort of thing,” Auger told the New York Times. “The findings of our studies took place before any of those measures were in.”
Read the New York Times story online.
Several other media have also picked up the story including:
Featured image of a classroom of children courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
Colorado silica dust trial could change the way industry does business
May 17, 2026
Betsy Malloy, Andrew Katsanis Professor of Law, at the University of Cincinnati, spoke with Bloomberg Law about how a Colorado trial could change the way the stone fabrication industry does business.
Driven by curiosity, guided by care
May 14, 2026
Max Wilson, a University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences health sciences major on the pre-physician assistant track, found his path expanding beyond the classroom and into hands-on research focused on human performance and patient care.
New cohort of nursing students get ready to join co-ops
May 14, 2026
A new chapter is beginning for more than 100 University of Cincinnati College of Nursing rising seniors as they embark on one of the most distinctive experiences in undergraduate nursing education: the UC Nursing Co-op Program. The incoming cohort will fan out across Cincinnati's premier healthcare institutions, stepping into some of the most dynamic and specialized clinical environments in the region. Placement sites include UC Medical Center (UCMC), West Chester Hospital, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) Burnet, College Hill, and Liberty campus.