Face-to-face school - anyone else's kids start yet?

[ikslo]

1 hour ago, Kanin said:

 How big is the district?!

Our dashboard reports a district population of 242,250

https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/coviddashboard

And positive cases is up to 6,582 since I last posted

[JennyD]

23 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

UPDATE: my DD's school will follow the other ultra "religious" schools in not requiring masks nor vaccination. Nor even testing after people go away to other locations to visit family (even though that's how most of the outbreaks began last year). I am SO f'in angry right now. The head of the school has a daughter with a lung illness for goodness sake! They pray for her but refuse to keep her family safer? WTH?  

Like the ancient rabbis said, "All Israel is responsible for one another, until people get tired of it, in which case, whatever."

 

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, ikslo said:

Our dashboard reports a district population of 242,250

https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/coviddashboard

And positive cases is up to 6,582 since I last posted

So roughly 1 in 40?  Ouch.

[Spy Car]

57 minutes ago, JennyD said:

Like the ancient rabbis said, "All Israel is responsible for one another, until people get tired of it, in which case, whatever."

 

Oh dear.

@YaelAldrich I thought immediately of the famous passage from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a / Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:9) that's  translated variously:

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.

What on earth are these rabbis thinking from a religiously Jewish perspective?

Makes my head want to explode.

Bill

 

[YaelAldrich]

32 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Oh dear.

@YaelAldrich I thought immediately of the famous passage from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a / Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:9) that's  translated variously:

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.

What on earth are these rabbis thinking from a religiously Jewish perspective?

Makes my head want to explode.

Bill

 

They are no different than their Taliban like Christian brothers. They don't believe science has anything to say to them, they don't want anyone else to have power, they want to keep their followers in a small, uneducated world.

It makes me sick. And furious. And making me consider again why I'm still religious if these people are supposed to be the leaders.

[Not_a_Number]

13 hours ago, Spryte said:

Next door neighbor’s child is in quarantine. One of her classmates tested positive. Her three siblings are not quarantined, and go to a different school. I don’t really know how that works.

Bingo,anyone?

 

 

Oooh, "making scientific-based parenting decisions for people" sounds like the job for me, lol. 

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, YaelAldrich said:

They are no different than their Taliban like Christian brothers. They don't believe science has anything to say to them, they don't want anyone else to have power, they want to keep their followers in a small, uneducated world.

It makes me sick. And furious. And making me consider again why I'm still religious if these people are supposed to be the leaders.

I'm truly sorry and understand (and share) your fury.

Reform?

Bill

[Happy2BaMom]

I posted this in the other thread (about locking down), but thought it was relevant here as well:

Pediatric cases in Arkansas are now 30% of all Covid cases.

In Spokane, WA, six children are in critical care due to Covid

Pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida reach record highs

AAP Study: Myocarditis risk 37 times higher for children with Covid-19

85 pediatric patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in North Texas

I could post more, but it's too depressing. Child deaths from Covid-19 are now also being reported in several states.

***********************************

I am almost beside myself with wondering what has happened to this formerly-great-now-just-a-f*cking-dumpster-fire-of-a-country? I think back to my school years (70's & 80's) & I cannot imagine parents and community members then *not caring* about children getting severely sick and risking life-long health complications. (And if someone isn't willing to do something to keep children from catching said virus, they don't care, no matter what else they say. Ditto for politicians and elected officials who refuse to lead during this time.)

[ieta_cassiopeia]

On 8/30/2021 at 8:11 PM, Not_a_Number said:

Isn't Israel already doing the experiment of what happens if you don't mask and don't vaccinate? 😕 The death numbers are really not great, despite the high levels of vaccination... 

Israel is vaccinating. The experiment is that it vaccinated very early, with 3 weeks' gap between doses, then removed the other protective measures in that small window when it thought it had the virus beaten.  Preliminary results indicate that it is already benefitting a lot from doing boosters of the vaccine (in that hospitalisations halved 2 weeks after the booster program started). Note I'm calling them preliminary because nothing peer-reviewed or pre-printed has been done to disambiguate boosters from more cautious behaviour.

Northern Ireland students start school today, England starts next week, Scotland started a fortnight ago.

[Drama Llama]

...

Edited October 28, 2021 by Nothingtoseehere

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

Israel is vaccinating. The experiment is that it vaccinated very early, with 3 weeks' gap between doses, then removed the other protective measures in that small window when it thought it had the virus beaten.  Preliminary results indicate that it is already benefitting a lot from doing boosters of the vaccine (in that hospitalisations halved 2 weeks after the booster program started). Note I'm calling them preliminary because nothing peer-reviewed or pre-printed has been done to disambiguate boosters from more cautious behaviour.

Northern Ireland students start school today, England starts next week, Scotland started a fortnight ago.

Sorry, I mean that they did the experiment of not doing boosters on time.

[HeartString]

5 hours ago, Happy2BaMom said:

I posted this in the other thread (about locking down), but thought it was relevant here as well:

Pediatric cases in Arkansas are now 30% of all Covid cases.

In Spokane, WA, six children are in critical care due to Covid

Pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida reach record highs

AAP Study: Myocarditis risk 37 times higher for children with Covid-19

85 pediatric patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in North Texas

I could post more, but it's too depressing. Child deaths from Covid-19 are now also being reported in several states.

***********************************

I am almost beside myself with wondering what has happened to this formerly-great-now-just-a-f*cking-dumpster-fire-of-a-country? I think back to my school years (70's & 80's) & I cannot imagine parents and community members then *not caring* about children getting severely sick and risking life-long health complications. (And if someone isn't willing to do something to keep children from catching said virus, they don't care, no matter what else they say. Ditto for politicians and elected officials who refuse to lead during this time.)

I think it’s no coincidence that things changed significantly after the fairness doctrine expired in the late 80s.  After that we had the rise of partisan talk radio and infotainment news channels. 

 

[ktgrok]

5 hours ago, Happy2BaMom said:

I think back to my school years (70's & 80's) & I cannot imagine parents and community members then *not caring* about children getting severely sick and risking life-long health complications. (And if someone isn't willing to do something to keep children from catching said virus, they don't care, no matter what else they say. Ditto for politicians and elected officials who refuse to lead during this time.)

I don't know...people fought against second hand smoke legislation pretty dang hard, even knowing it hurt kids. 

[SKL]

3 hours ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Here (and we’re in a place where things are better relative to a lot of the US, and the health department is cautious), contacts of contacts don’t quarantine.  

So, if a kid is home with no symptoms and a negative test, their siblings still go to school.

If the kid tests positive or has symptoms, the family stays home.

Same.

Quarantines are super disruptive.  To quarantine every indirect contact without evidence that the direct contact is sick would be even more harsh than last year's lockdowns.

I hope the quarantined kid is getting tested.  Also, it would be good if the non-quarantined sibs are masking at school.

But realistically, it looks like this variant is inescapable.

[ktgrok]

Looked at our district dashboard, and keeping in mind that both teachers and parents say it is way undercounting, we are having more than double the number of cases per day that we had even at the highest point of last school year (jan/feb). Highest I saw last year was 88 cases in a day, we are having over 200 a day on average, I'd say. Highest day so far was 382, yesterday was 282. 

We started with a mask mandate for real (vs parent opt out version) this past monday, several weeks into the school year, so we shall see if that helps. But pandora's box may already be opened. 

Link below shows the current dashboard, in the upper right corner there is a link to last year's dashboard. 

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMzdmYWM1N2QtNjIxMS00ODk3LWI3ZGUtYjZmODQzNTY4ZDA0IiwidCI6IjMwYTczNzMxLTdkNWEtNDY5My1hNGFmLTFmNWQ0ZTc0Y2E5MyIsImMiOjF9

[Spryte]

3 hours ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Here (and we’re in a place where things are better relative to a lot of the US, and the health department is cautious), contacts of contacts don’t quarantine.  

So, if a kid is home with no symptoms and a negative test, their siblings still go to school.

If the kid tests positive or has symptoms, the family stays home.

That makes sense. The chain of contact to contact would be long, and mean too many kids, too many disruptions. 

Yikes, though, our district has 900+ kids in quarantine as it is. That’s a lot of kids who are direct contacts. I somehow hoped some were siblings. This makes it worse. They actually just closed a middle school and a high school last week, for 10 school days.

Does your district have any guidelines re: what kids should do while kids are quarantining?

Another neighborhood kid here is probably “quarantined” as we have seen him out riding his bike during school hours the last week or so. He knocks on our door here and there, to see if our kids want to come out during school. DH thinks he’s likely home due to a quarantine for now, but his family is in the “this is a hoax” camp. I just go to the door and tell him that we are doing school (which is true). (I have a soft spot for this kid, he has a hard life, and we would never be unkind to him, no worries.)

 

[Spryte]

15 minutes ago, SKL said:

Same.

Quarantines are super disruptive.  To quarantine every indirect contact without evidence that the direct contact is sick would be even more harsh than last year's lockdowns.

I hope the quarantined kid is getting tested.  Also, it would be good if the non-quarantined sibs are masking at school.

But realistically, it looks like this variant is inescapable.

Right, talk about exponential growth. 

Our quarantined next door neighbor is getting tested. Our other neighborhood kid I mentioned above is just out and about as normal, visiting various houses to find a kid who can hang out … knocking on doors, biking to stores, unlikely that he will get tested. Hopefully he is healthy, and stays well, not positive. He’s a sweet kid with a rough life.

I don’t know what to make of the thought that this variant is inescapable. It may be, but that’s a hard concept to swallow with immune compromised kids, and self. I’m not ready for what that means. It would be an easier thought to swallow if our family were robustly healthy like some we know.

[vonfirmath]

23 hours ago, Spryte said:

Next door neighbor’s child is in quarantine. One of her classmates tested positive. Her three siblings are not quarantined, and go to a different school. I don’t really know how that works.

Bingo,anyone?

 

 

This is exactly how quarantine worked last year.

You quarantine due to YOUR contact with someone positive for coronavirus. Not your contact with someone who has had contact.

[SKL]

7 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Right, talk about exponential growth. 

Our quarantined next door neighbor is getting tested. Our other neighborhood kid I mentioned above is just out and about as normal, visiting various houses to find a kid who can hang out … knocking on doors, biking to stores, unlikely that he will get tested. Hopefully he is healthy, and stays well, not positive. He’s a sweet kid with a rough life.

I don’t know what to make of the thought that this variant is inescapable. It may be, but that’s a hard concept to swallow with immune compromised kids, and self. I’m not ready for what that means. It would be an easier thought to swallow if our family were robustly healthy like some we know.

Aside from vaxing when possible and using a self-protective mask design, there are lists of mitigation measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of the virus.

In our district, they have an all-virtual school option, which I would recommend for high risk families.  But I understand this is not a realistic option for everyone.

[Spryte]

26 minutes ago, SKL said:

Aside from vaxing when possible and using a self-protective mask design, there are lists of mitigation measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of the virus.

In our district, they have an all-virtual school option, which I would recommend for high risk families.  But I understand this is not a realistic option for everyone.

Our district has a virtual school option as well, so families who need it can use it, if they can work out the logistics. It’s a separate entity from regular school, and I’m not sure how it works. I think an optional hybrid choice would have helped this year, more than last, but that’s not available here this year.

I, personally, will feel better when DD10, high risk for complications with any illness, is vaccinated. Until then, we are being more cautious than some, based on her risk factors.

We homeschool for reasons other than Covid, so I don’t have a direct dog in the fight re: public school handling of everything, other than how it impacts community spread, and kids in our extracurriculars and (large) friend group. I think all of you with PS kids are doing the best you can, with a crappy situation, and wish the circumstances were better.  

For us, when community transmission is lower, we benefit directly by doing more of our activities and outings, and seeing more friends and family. When it’s high, we are more isolated. We have a loose plan, with our docs, re: what to do if one of our high risk peeps gets sick, but it feels pretty inadequate, frankly. If any of you know offhand of mitigation measure lists, I’m all ears and will take notes. 

ETA: I’m typing this from the front porch, with espresso. 10 am, school day. And the aforementioned, probably “quarantined” teen just rode through our cul de sac, doing wheelies and waving. Ha! Timing! I suppose there’s a minuscule chance they are homeschooling this year, but highly unlikely.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Spryte

[vonfirmath]

12 minutes ago, Spryte said:

ETA: I’m typing this from the front porch, with espresso. 10 am, school day. And the aforementioned, probably “quarantined” teen just rode through our cul de sac, doing wheelies and waving. Ha! Timing! I suppose there’s a minuscule chance they are homeschooling this year, but highly unlikely.

FYI when my daughter was quarantined last year (January) I did allow her to go outside. Even on her bike once. But she was instructed to keep her distance. So knocking on friends' doors would not have happened. And we mostly kept to our backyard. But I also would not have thought being quarantined meant being locked inside the house, not allowed outside. Outside, fresh air, away from people was fine.

 

ANd at least last year she had schoolwork to keep her busy part of the day. Without the virtual work to do, this year quarantine would be even more boring.

Edited September 1, 2021 by vonfirmath

[Not_a_Number]

4 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

FYI when my daughter was quarantined last year (January) I did allow her to go outside. Even on her bike once. But she was instructed to keep her distance. So knocking on friends' doors would not have happened. And we mostly kept to our backyard. But I also would not have thought being quarantined meant being locked inside the house, not allowed outside. Outside, fresh air, away from people was fine.

ANd at least last year she had schoolwork to keep her busy part of the day. Without the virtual work to do, this year quarantine would be even more boring.

I think allowing a kid in quarantine to be outside in the fresh air makes tons of sense. Letting her play with other kids doesn't, though. 

[Spryte]

Just now, vonfirmath said:

FYI when my daughter was quarantined last year (January) I did allow her to go outside. Even on her bike once. But she was instructed to keep her distance. So knocking on friends' doors would not have happened. And we mostly kept to our backyard. But I also would not have thought being quarantined meant being locked inside the house, not allowed outside. Outside, fresh air, away from people was fine.

Of course kids should go outside! I don’t begrudge anyone fresh air, time outside.  I hope my post didn’t come across otherwise.
 

I wondered, though, if any school districts have guidelines re: what kids should be doing while in quarantine.
 

In the case of my local neighbor kid …It’s the knocking on doors, not just ours, and playing with little kids that I find … counterproductive to “quarantine.” Nerf gun fights with the pre school crowd during school hours, popping into Sheetz to grab a soda, hanging with teens to play basketball after school. Seems counterproductive to helping the school stop transmission since he’s hanging with kids from school, once they are home, and the younger crowd is part of our school district, too.
 

This is a kid who lives with his grandma. She has always, since he was maybe 6 yr old, espoused the parenting style of “Outside! Don’t come back till mealtime!” He knows the neighborhood routines. Saturdays he’d knock on our door at 9 for pancakes, and so on. He just goes house to house, knocking till someone can play. He will play with anyone, and he’s a sweet, sweet kid. He’s out all day, all over the place, and doesn’t stand back when knocking on those doors, either. None of that is a big deal, we all love this kid. 

[SKL]

21 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

FYI when my daughter was quarantined last year (January) I did allow her to go outside. Even on her bike once. But she was instructed to keep her distance. So knocking on friends' doors would not have happened. And we mostly kept to our backyard. But I also would not have thought being quarantined meant being locked inside the house, not allowed outside. Outside, fresh air, away from people was fine.

 

ANd at least last year she had schoolwork to keep her busy part of the day. Without the virtual work to do, this year quarantine would be even more boring.

Exactly.  Quarantined doesn't mean sick.  I had my kid tested twice during quarantine.  She did not have Covid.  Her sister continued going to school.  Even had I wanted to keep sister home, she would have been truant since she was neither quarantined nor sick.  And she would not have had an excuse for late work, missed tests, etc.

My kid was not allowed to attend any sports etc. while quarantined.  We canceled their health appointments, music lessons, and whatever else in-person we had on the calendar.  But being out walking the dog, bike riding, etc. was encouraged.  Fighting Covid includes keeping our kids as healthy as we can.

[SKL]

15 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Of course kids should go outside! I don’t begrudge anyone fresh air, time outside.  I hope my post didn’t come across otherwise.
 

I wondered, though, if any school districts have guidelines re: what kids should be doing while in quarantine.
 

In the case of my local neighbor kid …It’s the knocking on doors, not just ours, and playing with little kids that I find … counterproductive to “quarantine.” Nerf gun fights with the pre school crowd during school hours, popping into Sheetz to grab a soda, hanging with teens to play basketball after school. Seems counterproductive to helping the school stop transmission since he’s hanging with kids from school, once they are home, and the younger crowd is part of our school district, too.
 

This is a kid who lives with his grandma. She has always, since he was maybe 6 yr old, espoused the parenting style of “Outside! Don’t come back till mealtime!” He knows the neighborhood routines. Saturdays he’d knock on our door at 9 for pancakes, and so on. He just goes house to house, knocking till someone can play. He will play with anyone, and he’s a sweet, sweet kid. He’s out all day, all over the place, and doesn’t stand back when knocking on those doors, either. None of that is a big deal, we all love this kid. 

Maybe he doesn't understand, or maybe he's had a negative test.

I don't know that the school advises what kids should do during quarantine.  I suspect they have their hands full managing what happens on school property, especially during an outbreak.

[Spryte]

2 minutes ago, SKL said:

Maybe he doesn't understand, or maybe he's had a negative test.

I don't know that the school advises what kids should do during quarantine.  I suspect they have their hands full managing what happens on school property, especially during an outbreak.

He may not understand. He’s not a kid-kid, he’s in 10th grade so he’s old enough but his grandparents don’t think Covid is a big deal, or even real, so I think his understanding of quarantine is different due to family culture.

But yeh, being outside and exercise, fresh air - all that makes sense. Congregating with other kids - not so much, to me.

If schools aren’t giving any recommendations or guidance about quarantine (like, say, outside is ok, outside with random people not in your household is not) though, then that answers my question. His family is such that they may or may not listen to guidance anyway.

[vonfirmath]

12 minutes ago, SKL said:

Maybe he doesn't understand, or maybe he's had a negative test.

I don't know that the school advises what kids should do during quarantine.  I suspect they have their hands full managing what happens on school property, especially during an outbreak.

Our school didn't tell us what to do/not do during quarantine. Just to come get the kiddo immediately and they could not come back to school until X date. And to let them know if kiddo came up positive on a COVID test.

 

She didn't go to her clubs, church meeting, church, or shopping with me while quarantined but I did go out shopping and occasionally brought home fast food for lunch, etc.

(We also didn't have grandparents help. Just in case. Though they were helping with virtual school when it happened otherwise)

 

Edited September 1, 2021 by vonfirmath

[vonfirmath]

ETA: She was invited to a birthday party that was supposed to happen during this time -- another kid in her class, also quarantined. Obviously the party did not happen. On the day of the other girl's birthday, we walked over to their house and put her gift on the doorstep. Then we stood at the sidewalk while the girl came out and unwrapped her gift and they waved at each other.

[YaelAldrich]

14 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I'm truly sorry and understand (and share) your fury.

Reform?

Bill

Been there (Reform), done that. Got the T shirt. I am edging closer to disengaging from communal life. I hold several community posts but it's getting harder to be a representative of a community that I don't think to be acting correctly according to Jewish law much less secular mores.

[Spy Car]

58 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Been there (Reform), done that. Got the T shirt. I am edging closer to disengaging from communal life. I hold several community posts but it's getting harder to be a representative of a community that I don't think to be acting correctly according to Jewish law much less secular mores.

Really sorry you are dealing with this. I understand completely.

In my little (highly Jewish) corner of LA, I've been really impressed with the response to Covid among the Reform synagogues.

Conservative, not bad--but could be better.

And I'll leave the rest unsaid. Disappointing.

Bill

[Syllieann]

@Spryte besides the obvious vaccine and protective mask you could try xclear nasal spray and use mouthwash.  My kids who are too young to vax (but not high risk) can do some limited outdoor things with other kids around.  I have them use a couple squirts of xclear beforehand and use Listerine afterward.  

[Not_a_Number]

38 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Conservative, not bad--but could be better.

What have the Conservative ones been like? Our synagogue is Conservative, and it's been all virtual, which has been fine... but they seem pretty flakey about this year's stuff so far. 

[fraidycat]

My kid started school today. This year we seem to have a weird mix of precaution/mitigation mixed with a large dose of "let 'er rip, we've done all we can do" going on. Masks and assigned seating are mandated for all elementary kids & schools and for all ages on buses with mixed age groups.

But, the high school is 'back to normal', except with a rolling block (two 2.5 hr. classes/day) schedule vs. five 1-hr. classes/day). Lunch is one hour, wide-open so all grade levels will mix and mingle. All extra-currs back on this year. There were no school-run extra-currs last year at all. The block schedule is supposed to help with contact tracing, but if lunch and before & after school is a free-for-all, I'm not sure I understand the point. 🤷🏻‍♀️
 

We had a lot more gov. mandates and mitigation measures in place last year and the school district was more cautious with hybrid online + in-class learning. Our numbers were lower then than they are now.

I guess we'll see how this experiment goes. 

 

 

[Spy Car]

21 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

What have the Conservative ones been like? Our synagogue is Conservative, and it's been all virtual, which has been fine... but they seem pretty flakey about this year's stuff so far. 

The big Conservative synagogue has reopened. They are also streaming. I believe those attending are supposed to be vaccinated (if they are over 12). Are they checking vaccination status? Not too sure about that.

The school (like public schools) is open.

I assume masking is going on. Seems like typical levels of "caution" relative to the general community, as far as I can see. Not bad.

The big Reform synagogue--which went virtual almost immediately--is also open and will be having High Holy Day services in person, however they are actively encouraging people to participate remotely, while having a strict document proof of vaccination check pre-authorization for the holidays. Major messaging on the ethics of stopping the spread. 

A difference of degrees.

Bill

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Syllieann said:

@Spryte besides the obvious vaccine and protective mask you could try xclear nasal spray and use mouthwash.  My kids who are too young to vax (but not high risk) can do some limited outdoor things with other kids around.  I have them use a couple squirts of xclear beforehand and use Listerine afterward.  

Could you please let me know why you do this before they go out? I am interested in trying it as well ...

[Syllieann]

9 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Could you please let me know why you do this before they go out? I am interested in trying it as well ...

There is some limited in vitro data to show that one of the ingredients inactivates the virus while another ingredient makes it more difficult for it to "stick" to the mucous membrane.  It's been on the market and widely used for allergies so we know it is safe, thus I don't mind giving it a try even if there's not lots of data.  My hope would be that it makes it less likely that virus that did happen to find its way in would result in infection.  It wasn't previously classed as a drug , so the fda can't approve it, but they are working on changing that.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7645297/

https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04858620

[mathnerd]

20 minutes ago, Syllieann said:

There is some limited in vitro data to show that one of the ingredients inactivates the virus while another ingredient makes it more difficult for it to "stick" to the mucous membrane.  It's been on the market and widely used for allergies so we know it is safe, thus I don't mind giving it a try even if there's not lots of data.  My hope would be that it makes it less likely that virus that did happen to find its way in would result in infection.  It wasn't previously classed as a drug , so the fda can't approve it, but they are working on changing that.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7645297/

https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04858620

Thank you!

[Spryte]

1 hour ago, Syllieann said:

There is some limited in vitro data to show that one of the ingredients inactivates the virus while another ingredient makes it more difficult for it to "stick" to the mucous membrane.  It's been on the market and widely used for allergies so we know it is safe, thus I don't mind giving it a try even if there's not lots of data.  My hope would be that it makes it less likely that virus that did happen to find its way in would result in infection.  It wasn't previously classed as a drug , so the fda can't approve it, but they are working on changing that.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7645297/

https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04858620

We use this product at our house sometimes, so I see no harm in giving it a shot either. Our doc has recommended it when we are sick with sinus junk, prior to Covid. I feel like she may have mentioned it has an effect on biofilms of other bugs. Can’t recall exactly now, it was 2019 or so when she suggested it. I recall reading later that it was showing some promise re: Covid, and getting some extra because we like to have it on hand - it’s a go-to when we get sick anyway, and I was afraid there could be a run on it. It’s one of those things I have in the toolkit in case we get sick, but I had not thought of using it preventatively. Thanks.

[SKL]

Our superintendant sent out a voice mail and email to everyone this evening.  He noted that we have over 1% of our student body out in quarantine right now and would people please mask their kids.  He noted that masking will reduce/prevent quarantines, and he implied that if things get bad enough, we might end up virtual schooling again.

From what I've seen in our public elementary schools (photos, videos), most kids seem to be masking, but not all.  Not sure about middle school.  High school is mostly unmasked as far as I can tell.

[SKL]

As far as the comparison to last year (less mitigation this year), recall that the point was really never to protect the majority of kids, but to protect people at high risk whom they might interact with - mainly older adults.  Now that the vast majority of at-risk adults can be vaccinated if they want to (and there is an all-virtual option for those who are still at risk), there isn't as much concern about keeping cases extremely low.  I think the main concern now is to hopefully not overwhelm hospitals.

Right now we're not doing awful, but I still think Delta will cover a lot more ground here before it leaves us.

In our state, since the beginning of this pandemic, there have been a total of 7 children who died with Covid, of which only 2 were between ages 5 and 17.  The cumulative number of school-aged children hospitalized to date is about 900 (over 21 months).  The weekly number hospitalized has increased recently, but is still less than the peak in December 2020, and seems to be decreasing for now.

I don't know what the threshold may be beyond which the school system goes virtual.  As I told my kids, if it goes virtual, oh well.  We'll deal.  At least now they know how to use the technology and stuff.  Hopefully, if it does go virtual, it won't be for super long.

[Tenaj]

Our local district just announced that they are closing down today and tomorrow.  With the holiday on Monday, that gives five days with no school to may e break the Covid cycle and then they are mandating masks for two weeks.  A larger school in our area announced virtual learning for the next two weeks.  

So far the small school we play sports at it is doing ok with their anti-mask policy.  Rumor is that one of the varsity volleyball girls has Covid but she hasn't been at any games or practices since school started last week so I'm assuming she was sick prior to that.  

My 12yo can get her first vaccine shot tomorrow!  Yay!  She is playing volleyball so I feel like we are in a race between Delta and her birthday but we didn't have the heart to pull her off the team.

[Happy2BaMom]

Seems relevant here.

[mommyoffive]

Just saw pictures from the first day of school in my city.   Masks must not be required in the schools because at the high school most of the people didn't have a mask. I counted 10 kids in the freshman class.  Then all the upper classmen where at the elementary schools with no masks.  Kids sitting knee to knee at lunch indoors.  No social distance.  Kids playing sports indoors and no masks.  I can't believe it.  I am so upset, but also so sad.  My kids are not in school but man I wish they could be doing all those things acting like it is 2019. 

[JennyD]

More school districts in TN are closing because of staff shortages. I think the count is up to 18 districts now.  Plus a whole bunch more individual schools.  Apparently a lot of bus drivers and cafeteria workers, in particular, are out sick.

The state education commissioner has consented to allow individual classrooms or schools, but not entire districts, to go virtual.  This is a major concession from the current governor's administration.  However, so far all the reporting is that these districts are just shutting down completely until after Labor Day. (ETA:  I just read that the commissioner is granting some, not all, of these requests.)

TN is a very conservative, rural state and AFAIK outside of the cities schools (and school sports) across the state were in-person and operating normally last year.  Vaccines, masks, and other covid precautions are quite unpopular in most of the places that are currently closing schools, so it is very striking that they are taking such drastic measures. The situation must be just completely unworkable.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by JennyD

[kbutton]

Some Ohio school districts are trying to pilot modified quarantine rules. 

https://www.fox19.com/2021/09/01/warren-county-schools-send-proposal-gov-dewine-change-quarantine-guidelines-students/

I am leery of false negatives letting kids come back to schools. The false negative rate for rapid testing is pretty high.

Students with masks or vaccinations (one or the other) are already not required to quarantine.  

[ieta_cassiopeia]

On 9/1/2021 at 12:12 PM, Not_a_Number said:

Sorry, I mean that they did the experiment of not doing boosters on time.

We still don't know when "on time" is for boosters, so it's not like Israel had much choice. Back then, it wasn't clear if boosters would ever be required, and as the first to vaccinate, Israel was likely to always be the one to find out when that timeframe might be.

[Not_a_Number]

13 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

We still don't know when "on time" is for boosters, so it's not like Israel had much choice. Back then, it wasn't clear if boosters would ever be required, and as the first to vaccinate, Israel was likely to always be the one to find out when that timeframe might be.

Yes, I’m not saying they did something wrong, just that the experiment has been done.

[strawberries]

One of DS's teachers just returned from a 2-week absence. Turns out his young kids caught covid and he caught it from them. Never heard anything official from the school; he told the students himself when he got back. Rumor has it that two cafeteria workers are also out with covid, but again, nothing official. I am wondering if they are using the "if everyone was properly masked then no one is a close contact" rationalization to not inform us of potential exposures. DS is vaxxed but AFAIK the school doesn't know which students are or aren't; they've never asked. Masks are required in our county school buildings.  However, when I went to Open House last week there were a couple of unmasked parents and no one said anything to them. 

[SKL]

Don't expect the school to tell you who has Covid, because that is not allowed.  They can tell you your kid sat within 3 feet of someone who had Covid, and you get to do your own detective work to try to guess who it was.

I don't think it matters who.

Personally I am still trusting my kids' vaxes and their natural immune systems.  I know there have been cases at their school, but I have zero curiosity as to who those people are.  I'm glad they aren't going to be quarantined every time someone in the vicinity tests positive.

[Spryte]

In our largest local hospital, 10% of all hospitalized Covid patients are kids. I’m not sure if that’s consistent with the rest of the country.
 

School started three weeks ago.