Course: Association of University Student Gatherings With Community COVID-19 Infections Before and After the NCAA March Madness Tournament
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2021-10-25
Universities across the US are weighing various vaccination policies for the current fall semester. It is difficult to assess the risk of social gatherings on university campuses among unvaccinated students. However, the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament (March Madness) provides an opportunity to study this risk. In mid-March 2021, when variants were spreading rapidly and vaccination rates were low among the college-aged population, 64 universities across the country competed in March Madness. By the event’s nature as a single-elimination tournament, it is difficult to predict which universities will proceed to the later rounds of the tournament. This cross-sectional study uses a difference-in-differences analysis to estimate the association of large celebrations at universities across the US with COVID-19 infections in a university’s county during a time of low vaccination rates among university students.
Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
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