Children’s Birthday Gatherings and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Grandparents

Are social gatherings, exemplified by children’s birthdays, associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in older adults?In a cohort study of 1 106 493 grandparents with 961 294 grandchildren, the hazard of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection was higher following grandchildren’s birthdays, a statistically significant association.These findings suggest that small family events were a measurable transmission pathway to seniors, indicating that these socially important events were prioritized despite an ongoing pandemic; targeted risk-mitigation (eg, pre-event testing) might be a tool to reduce spill overs in future respiratory pandemics.

Corresponding Author: Laura Espenhain, PhD, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, Statens Serum Institut, 5 Artillervej; 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark (laes@ssi.dk).

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