Are more people opting into the APS testing?

[Anonymous]

"Spinning the bottle has worked out for me so far. Therefore I'll continue to spin the bottle."

Honestly, maybe you're right. I don't know anyone who has gotten long covid. (Most people I know haven't gotten covid, that we know of, though our circle of friends and family have generally been pretty cautious and protective.) If studies come out showing that omicron really isn't causing long covid at the rate that other strains were, it will be a big relief that the superspreader was for most so mild. Maybe that will happen, but meanwhile I'm going to stay cautious.

Things had been getting closer to normal before December for us and I can see them getting closer to normal again. We traveled for Thanksgiving and even ate inside at a few restaurants then with family. Spent time with family. Kid saw some friends, mostly outside. We get takeout from restaurants and eat it at home. Sorry if our cautiousness offends you. Live your lives and be happy in whatever way that best suits you, hopefully not hurting others in the process. We are fine. Happiness isn't having what you want, it's wanting what you have.

[Anonymous]

We are part of the school community and concerned for everyone in the school building.

Of course we test. Our responsibility is to betterment of all, not selfish wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are part of the school community and concerned for everyone in the school building.

Of course we test. Our responsibility is to betterment of all, not selfish wants.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Testing at home. Got a bunch of OTC tests during the summer when no one was as worried and they were easy to come by. Would not dream of sending a kid with Covid to school, even if they felt perfect!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don’t trust Duran to make smart decisions with the data he collects. After only testing athletes, he determines that athletes are a threat. He’s a poor data scientist, and I’m not going to feed him data.

Testing athletes makes sense to me. Maybe there are some sports that don't have a lot of close contact, but I'm thinking of basketball and wrestling where kids are all up in each other's faces breathing heavily. Seems there would be a ton of spread in such situations unless there was testing.

You’d really be upset by the huge number of kids I know playing Futsal weeknights and every weekend throughout winter,,,,or hockey or indoor track.

Just give it up. Omicron is causing nothing. Everyone I know who had it the last few weeks had almost zero symptoms.

Mental health of kids and school is more important at this point.

My kids play futsal, hockey and basketball which is why we DO test with APS. The sports are a major positive aspect for their mental health.

You should take a look at Dr Silverman’s weekly update, he’s head of the ER in Arlington. You are incorrect in your categorization of Omicron being nothing. While you may believe that, it’s not reality. He does say it’s milder, but not nothing.

“ We’re certainly seeing a lot of COVID positive kids. We’ve transferred several critically ill kids to pediatric intensive care units (PICU) and this includes kids ranging from newborns to upwards of 12 years old, both vaccinated and unvaccinated (obviously those <5 are unvax). One of the more interesting things we’ve seen are the number of kids who have croup secondary to COVID. Croup is inflammation of the upper airway, typically caused by a virus, and usually results in a barking, seal like cough. We see it commonly in the ER and we typically can get kids improved and home in a matter of hours. However, we’ve had several really sick kids from croup who required a PICU bed. Please get your kids vaccinated and boosted if they qualify. It will make a difference.”

https://www.facebook.com/1551200652/posts/10227524937419665/?d=n

Croup is almost exclusively found in little kids - as in those too young to be vaccinated. You grow out of it because your airways become bigger.

So let’s protect the littles. Society used to care about protecting children, more so the younger they are. Under 5s can’t be cant be vaccinated yet.

Mike Silverman is disgrace. He's a fearmonger and a cancer on this community.

So croup cough has been around in kids since the beginning of humans, but now it's caused by COVID. He says that with 0 SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. 0.

Meanwhile, Fauci and Walensky are making clear that the majority of child hospitalization are incidental to COVID. But let's trust the COVIDian fear monger at the local hospital instead.

Saying omicron is milder than previous covid is now considered fear mongering? Obviously Mike is just sharing what he sees....from our local ER. I find it an interesting perspective since I don't work in the ER. But maybe you do so you know better.

Please, please use a little common sense when you read his updates. He is publicly identifying his workplace. He will always say covid is bad. He will always lean toward caution and concern. And also keep in mind he never discusses numbers but always uses generalizations - “big increase” or easily to manipulate percentages. Look if there was 1 covid patient admitted last week and now there are 4 well that could be characterized as a “big increase”.

[Anonymous]

His reports are filled with numbers wtf?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:His reports are filled with numbers wtf?

You ever see a denominator in his updates? He only uses %s.

Like hospitalizations (which are actually people incidentally testing positive for COVID at the hospital, probably around 30-50%) have increased 50%! - from what to what?!? There were very few hospitalizations previously so just a few additional hospitalizations can increase the % significantly.

And what % of the overall hospitalizations? He notably did not put in that latest update - but still claimed that non-COVID hospitalizations are a lot too, implying that they're even! COVID hospitalizations are likely less than 20%.

[Anonymous]

At this point in the epidemic, the purpose of asymptomatic surveillance testing is to keep kids out of school, make sure hospitals & businesses are short-staffed, and impose lockdown by stealth. We will not comply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His reports are filled with numbers wtf?

You ever see a denominator in his updates? He only uses %s.

Like hospitalizations (which are actually people incidentally testing positive for COVID at the hospital, probably around 30-50%) have increased 50%! - from what to what?!? There were very few hospitalizations previously so just a few additional hospitalizations can increase the % significantly.

And what % of the overall hospitalizations? He notably did not put in that latest update - but still claimed that non-COVID hospitalizations are a lot too, implying that they're even! COVID hospitalizations are likely less than 20%.

Eh, I work with numbers a lot and once nice thing about percentages is it saves from quibbling about who has the most current data and whether an absolute count is 10,376 or 10,382.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At this point in the epidemic, the purpose of asymptomatic surveillance testing is to keep kids out of school, make sure hospitals & businesses are short-staffed, and impose lockdown by stealth. We will not comply.

Yes, those of us with at risk kids under 5 aren't really trying to keep our kids safe and ensure schools are a safe place for our kids. What we really want is to short staff hospitals and keep all kids out of school. Which conspiracy will you unmask next? Maybe you should look into the real reason schools have anti-bully policies. There is probably something nefarious and targeted at you in all of that.

[Anonymous]

We opted in. If my kids are positive I’d rather know and keep them home than be part of the spread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At this point in the epidemic, the purpose of asymptomatic surveillance testing is to keep kids out of school, make sure hospitals & businesses are short-staffed, and impose lockdown by stealth. We will not comply.

Yes, those of us with at risk kids under 5 aren't really trying to keep our kids safe and ensure schools are a safe place for our kids. What we really want is to short staff hospitals and keep all kids out of school. Which conspiracy will you unmask next? Maybe you should look into the real reason schools have anti-bully policies. There is probably something nefarious and targeted at you in all of that.

There are vanishingly few at risk children under the age of 5. I’m sorry you have one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We opted in. If my kids are positive I’d rather know and keep them home than be part of the spread.

Here as well.

It’s what is needed. And it will be costly for us, but it’s the most ethical choice.

[Anonymous]

Guys, there’s 340 kids in APS that reported Covid positive right now. Those are just the ones that Have reported. 50 at Wakefield alone. Oakridge reported 19 in the past last 24 hours. Community spread is extremely high, so obviously testing is important. Don’t spite yourselves, test your kids and send them in a high-quality mask. If you want schools to stay open, that is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t trust Duran to make smart decisions with the data he collects. After only testing athletes, he determines that athletes are a threat. He’s a poor data scientist, and I’m not going to feed him data.

Testing athletes makes sense to me. Maybe there are some sports that don't have a lot of close contact, but I'm thinking of basketball and wrestling where kids are all up in each other's faces breathing heavily. Seems there would be a ton of spread in such situations unless there was testing.

You’d really be upset by the huge number of kids I know playing Futsal weeknights and every weekend throughout winter,,,,or hockey or indoor track.

Just give it up. Omicron is causing nothing. Everyone I know who had it the last few weeks had almost zero symptoms.

Mental health of kids and school is more important at this point.

My kids play futsal, hockey and basketball which is why we DO test with APS. The sports are a major positive aspect for their mental health.

You should take a look at Dr Silverman’s weekly update, he’s head of the ER in Arlington. You are incorrect in your categorization of Omicron being nothing. While you may believe that, it’s not reality. He does say it’s milder, but not nothing.

“ We’re certainly seeing a lot of COVID positive kids. We’ve transferred several critically ill kids to pediatric intensive care units (PICU) and this includes kids ranging from newborns to upwards of 12 years old, both vaccinated and unvaccinated (obviously those <5 are unvax). One of the more interesting things we’ve seen are the number of kids who have croup secondary to COVID. Croup is inflammation of the upper airway, typically caused by a virus, and usually results in a barking, seal like cough. We see it commonly in the ER and we typically can get kids improved and home in a matter of hours. However, we’ve had several really sick kids from croup who required a PICU bed. Please get your kids vaccinated and boosted if they qualify. It will make a difference.”

https://www.facebook.com/1551200652/posts/10227524937419665/?d=n

Croup is almost exclusively found in little kids - as in those too young to be vaccinated. You grow out of it because your airways become bigger.

So let’s protect the littles. Society used to care about protecting children, more so the younger they are. Under 5s can’t be cant be vaccinated yet.

Mike Silverman is disgrace. He's a fearmonger and a cancer on this community.

So croup cough has been around in kids since the beginning of humans, but now it's caused by COVID. He says that with 0 SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. 0.

Meanwhile, Fauci and Walensky are making clear that the majority of child hospitalization are incidental to COVID. But let's trust the COVIDian fear monger at the local hospital instead.

Saying omicron is milder than previous covid is now considered fear mongering? Obviously Mike is just sharing what he sees....from our local ER. I find it an interesting perspective since I don't work in the ER. But maybe you do so you know better.

Please, please use a little common sense when you read his updates. He is publicly identifying his workplace. He will always say covid is bad. He will always lean toward caution and concern. And also keep in mind he never discusses numbers but always uses generalizations - “big increase” or easily to manipulate percentages. Look if there was 1 covid patient admitted last week and now there are 4 well that could be characterized as a “big increase”.

I’m sorry that you don’t like what an actual medical professional dealing day to day with this thing for two years has to say. I also hope you don’t get a heart attack, stroke, broken bone, need any kind of surgical procedure, or have any other cause to need in-person medical care. The staff is maxed out, testing positive, and it affects all people needing medical care. Everyone is all brave about covid until they get exposed, get the sniffles, and can’t find a test or think that there is some magical huge supply of monoclonal antibodies that works on omicron, “just so I don’t get really sick”. All the hospitals in the area are telling people to stay home and take Tylenol. They are getting strapped treating anyone for anything.