NYT Op Ed from a pediatrician - again arguing against schools closures

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

The majority also doesn't want to die from COVID and these two notions are at odds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what one of Biden's advisors had to say on schools. This is from Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center and assistant professor at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Does it seem like this is how MCPS is thinking about the challenges of reopening?

If you have widespread community transmission, there may come a tipping point where you do need to go back to virtual schooling. But I think the priority is to try to keep schools open as much as possible, and to provide the resources for that to happen.

From an epidemiologic perspective, we know that the highest-risk settings are restaurants, bars, gyms, nail salons and also indoor gatherings — social gatherings and private settings.

I would consider school an essential service. Those other things are not essential services. The smarter we are about being very responsive to trends in transmission — to closing indoor restaurants sooner — the longer you’re likely to be able to keep schools open.

We know that the risk of transmission in schools is not zero, but they’re not amplifying transmission the way some of these other places are.

We need to be supporting those businesses, whether it’s the restaurant owners and the people working in those restaurants, because it is not fair that they are bearing a very heavy brunt of the economic fallout from this.

So, an infectious disease specialist. Check. Works for Biden, not Trump. Check. Thinks kids should be in school. Check. Doesn't believe schools are super spreader environments. Check. I mean this shreds most of the ignorant retorts that get tossed around on this board and on this thread. DL advocate clowns for the loss...

Well, the resources were not provided to "make it happen." And we now have widespread community transmission, so the point is moot.

We can keep arguing about what should have happened in September through mid-November but after 42 million go-rounds about it here, it seems that may not bear fruit. How about we focus on what we are going to have to do in an environment of widespread transmission, since that is where we are now?

Welp, Florida pulled it off and their cases went down throughout the fall. They are actually in better shape than other parts of the country right now. There honestly isn't much correlation at all between where schools are open and where they aren't and where COVID is raging because schools aren't driving it one way or the other.

It appears to have gone up by all accounts since schools opened. DeSantis, tried to fudge the data and had to fire people for coming clean about this. He later clamped down on the data., I think you're mistaking the lack of transparency for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

What do pediatricians know?
Teacher unions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is a vocal handful on these boards that clamor for school openings and quote dubious claims by people who are not pandemic experts.
We must ignore them. They are literally pushing for more deaths.

Yep the Trumpers are out in force the last few days.

I love how many of them are not infectious disease experts, LOL.

Pea brained.

[Anonymous]

If you want schools open stop supporting Trump.

If we can not focus as a country we won't get back to school.

Trumpers you want schools stop with the nonsense this is all on you little people who literally can not put on a little mask.

You failed, Trump failed and now the rest of us are suffering. Particularly children. This is your fault!

#trumpliesAmericansdie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

56% (of the 34,000 responses) is a "fairly strong" majority, in your opinion? Why?

As for consensus

Definition of consensus

1a : general agreement : unanimity
b : the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned
2 : group solidarity in sentiment and belief

I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Well NYC didn’t listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

You can want anything, the question is how do we safely return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want schools open stop supporting Trump.

If we can not focus as a country we won't get back to school.

Trumpers you want schools stop with the nonsense this is all on you little people who literally can not put on a little mask.

You failed, Trump failed and now the rest of us are suffering. Particularly children. This is your fault!

#trumpliesAmericansdie

Trump is not relevant and our area has very few trump supporters. Its more than a little mask that keeps us out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

Majority and consensus are two opposing approaches to making decisions.

56% of the 21% voting is not what I'd call a "strong majority".

[Anonymous]

Schools have been open in the U.K. and Europe since August and the transmission, especially in younger kids has been minimal. Even though children under 12 don’t wear masks. As long as they don’t see grandparents it appears to be working fine. And the kids get educated and parents can work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, there are only 34,000 responses to the MCPS parent preference survey. I'm going to assume that the response group is disproportionately western/wealthy/white, as previously.

And of those 34,000 responses, only a bare majority (56%) opted for hybrid.

That's not a public consensus for having school.

When there's a public consensus for school, there will be school. That's what will change things. Not an op ed in the New York Times, and not endless repetition on DCUM of the same arguments DCUM has been having since June.

um ... a fairly strong majority want in person school. that seems like a pretty strong consensus!

Majority and consensus are two opposing approaches to making decisions.

56% of the 21% voting is not what I'd call a "strong majority".

It's too early to draw any conclusions. I've been following the issue closely and know about the survey and have not submitted because the options were so confusing that I'm wondering if they will clarify things before the deadline. For instance, they first said you could easily switch from the in-person option to virtual. Then they were silent in the survey. Then at the zoom meeting they said the'd do their best to accommodate changes. I figure there's a good chance they will say something else that I would take into consideration before making my mind up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools have been open in the U.K. and Europe since August and the transmission, especially in younger kids has been minimal. Even though children under 12 don’t wear masks. As long as they don’t see grandparents it appears to be working fine. And the kids get educated and parents can work.

It isn't working fine in individual countries and they are having huge number of COVID cases and heavy lockdowns. Are you wiling to go on a heavy lockdown?

https://nypost.com/2020/10/30/massive-traffic-jam-clogs-paris-as-france-enters-covid-lockdown/

If we want schools to open, something has to give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

What do pediatricians know?
Teacher unions

Pediatricians don’t have 30 unmasked kids with unknown COVID status in the same room as them for 6 hours straight.