Since this week, upper secondary education may also take place at a distance, but during the period that the researchers examined, the upper secondary schools were kept open while the upper secondary school was managed at a distance.

- When we check for underlying factors that could have affected the spread of infection, we still see that the risk of infection is twice as high for high school teachers, says Helena Svaleryd, professor of economics at Uppsala University.

The researchers coordinated several databases and registers.

In the results, they also saw that parents of high school students were more infected by the coronavirus compared to parents of high school students, although the difference was significantly smaller.

Heard in the debate

Among teachers, however, the risk was still higher in upper secondary school than in primary and middle school, despite the fact that school for younger children was not run at a distance.

Why, researchers are not entirely sure.

- There can be several reasons, perhaps that younger children do not infect as much, says Helena Svaleryd.

The study has recently been scientifically reviewed and approved for publication in a scientific journal.

But already in the autumn, the results were discussed.

The Swedish Public Health Agency then published its own study which showed that primary school teachers did not run a greater risk of being infected with covid-19, compared with other professions.

Criticizes FHM

However, the researchers claim that the authority's way of analyzing downplays the risks for upper secondary school teachers in particular, as they have “lumped together” all primary school teachers under the same category.

- It will be a different type of comparison, says Helena Svaleryd.

The risk of infection for teachers has also recently been highlighted in a Swedish study which states that Swedish teachers have a halved risk of receiving intensive care for covid-19 compared with other adults.

However, the two different studies do not contradict each other, says Helena Svaleryd.

- We have measured covid diagnosis and not enrollment in iva, so both results can be correct, she says.