Masks optional by spring break

[Anonymous]

"work done by scientists in Durban has shown how COVID can mutate inside the bodies of those with untreated HIV. In one case, they traced a coronavirus sample to a 36-year-old HIV patient who was struggling to adhere to her antiretroviral treatment regime. Over the course of her seven-month COVID infection, the virus acquired 32 mutations. The risk is clear. New variants of concern could evolve - and be transmitted - by those with weakened immune systems."
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-south-african-...reated-hiv-population-12522430

“The faster Omicron spreads, the more opportunities there are for mutation, potentially leading to more variants,” said Leonardo Martinez, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University."

"Along with keeping comparatively healthy people out of work and school, the ease with which the variant spreads increases the odds that the virus will infect and linger inside people with weakened immune systems — giving it more time to develop potent mutations."

“It’s the longer, persistent infections that seem to be the most likely breeding grounds for new variants,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s only when you have very widespread infection that you’re going to provide the opportunity for that to occur.” “These huge unvaccinated swaths in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere are basically variant factories,”
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01...-after-omicron-scientists-warn

Took a screenshot so hopefully it won't be deleted this time?

[Anonymous]

^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we should go option asap because there will be a new variant by the time spring break comes along. Need to seize the opportunity to unmask when we can. Masks are not NBD for kids and I'm sick and tired of being gaslighted about it. They absolutely impede learning and relationships and the inability to recognize that erodes credibility, IMO.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

You can't obviously.

But you could tie foreign aid to it. Which would be bold, for sure.

[Anonymous]

Here's my message for all the board members and politicians reading this.

You all have a choice. Accept that things happen, and plan reasonable and measured actions, or you can bicker and fight back-and-forth endlessly as a political issue.

I was in England when a bombing happened nearby the hotel I was staying. The BBC newscaster just stated matter-of-factly that a bomb detonated in a trash canister and there were no casualties. End of story - next page. Only then did I understand what "keep a stiff upper lip" meant.

When covid hits a certain trigger, the school should take measures. When the next trigger is passed, the school should take another measure - and so on. When the surge subsides, end of story - move on. If parents are okay with virtual or temporary virtual, have a plan to keep them virtual. If parents need their kids in-person, have a plan to keep them in-person. Do your jobs as professional educators responsible to keep the children safe and healthy. Accept it - move on.

Masks, vaccinations, covid treatments, social distancing, temporary virtual, are all part of that solution. The number of hospital beds filled, number of deaths, effect on children - should all be factors. Don't look only at MoCo - look ahead at where MoCo will be if you do nothing.

I hope there is never another spike. I hope that covid is over. But we should still plan - even if it's a plan that collects dust - so that if this ever happens again down the road, people know what to do.

Or, we can just keep blogging over and over again on DCUMS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

Obviously the US cannot mandate vaccines in other countries. I was merely stating that I agree with other countries having vaccine mandates. Here is a current list: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-making-covid-19-vaccines-mandatory-2021-08-16/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

Obviously the US cannot mandate vaccines in other countries. I was merely stating that I agree with other countries having vaccine mandates. Here is a current list: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-making-covid-19-vaccines-mandatory-2021-08-16/

Yeah, how’s that working out for this countries?

Countries with mandates are not doing any better or worse than countries without mandates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

You can't obviously.

But you could tie foreign aid to it. Which would be bold, for sure.

Oh, that would be a good look for the US.

And when it turns out that the widespread vaccine administration actually leads to variants or the AZ shot causes adverse events? Surely the US will ‘take care’ of that, right?

Or should the US simply deny aid to unvaccinated countries and hope that eliminates COVID?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ So the key is vaccination? I'm all for vaccination mandates here and abroad.

LOL

Good luck mandating vaccines abroad.

How t do o you propose the US mandate vaccines in other countries?

Obviously the US cannot mandate vaccines in other countries. I was merely stating that I agree with other countries having vaccine mandates. Here is a current list: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-making-covid-19-vaccines-mandatory-2021-08-16/

Yeah, how’s that working out for this countries?

Countries with mandates are not doing any better or worse than countries without mandates.

In terms of what? Deaths due to Covid? On which statistics are you basing your claim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do agree that at a point it needs to be treated like we treat the flu. Yes people die from the flu but less likely if you get the vaccine. We don’t shut everything down for a regular flu season either.

In the US a typical number of flu deaths per season is 35,000.
The worst years, flu deaths may reach up to 50-60k, without any measures.
COVID took 62,000 lives only this January and 240,000 lives since September, with measures and vaccines.

Yes, but it mostly killing unvaccinated adults who chose to be unvaccinated for whatever reason. I'm sorry that they were brainwashed, but I do not think we should be considering their deaths in our analysis. The percentage is a bit fuzzy to calculate and find, but let's say approximately 8% of the Covid deaths are among vaccinated adults. That gives us only about 5000 Covid deaths in January (that we should be counting). Yes, it is sad when people die from Covid. But 35,000 to 60,000 people die from the flu every single year!

A number comment:
Assuming 64% of fully vaccinated and a death probability that is 20 times higher for the unvaccinated people, you get that the number of deaths, considering 100% vaccination, is 13% (and not 8%) of the currently actual ones.
If the previous factor is 10 and not 20, then you get that 100% vaccination would lead to 24% (and not 8%) of the current deaths.
Moreover, the deaths we currently count are affected by the mitigation measures. So, if you remove mitigation measures, the number of deaths will not be 13%-24% but higher because the number of cases will be higher.
So, yes, vaccination could save many lives but not as many as you claimed, especially if you remove the mitigation measures.

An ethics comment:
Unfortunately, the fully vaccinated people are way less than 100%.
So, what should we do? Should we leave these people to die, without healthcare outside hospitals? Really?
What would be the next step?
To deny healthcare to those with heart problems with unhealthy habits?
To deny healthcare to cancer patients that used to smoke?

I wonder what is worse? To be a crazy anti-vaxxer or an unhuman who denies counting people's deaths (because they are unvaccinated)?

[Anonymous]

As much as the people on DC Urban Mom like to deny it, I think we’re headed toward optional masking this spring.

Some parents will be excited and some will be nervous. That’s okay. It’s to move forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As much as the people on DC Urban Mom like to deny it, I think we’re headed toward optional masking this spring.

Some parents will be excited and some will be nervous. That’s okay. It’s to move forward.

Dear god I hope so. Remember people, it’s optional. If you aren’t ready that’s fine. Have a conversation with your kid explaining your reasons for requiring them to mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's my message for all the board members and politicians reading this.

You all have a choice. Accept that things happen, and plan reasonable and measured actions, or you can bicker and fight back-and-forth endlessly as a political issue.

I was in England when a bombing happened nearby the hotel I was staying. The BBC newscaster just stated matter-of-factly that a bomb detonated in a trash canister and there were no casualties. End of story - next page. Only then did I understand what "keep a stiff upper lip" meant.

When covid hits a certain trigger, the school should take measures. When the next trigger is passed, the school should take another measure - and so on. When the surge subsides, end of story - move on. If parents are okay with virtual or temporary virtual, have a plan to keep them virtual. If parents need their kids in-person, have a plan to keep them in-person. Do your jobs as professional educators responsible to keep the children safe and healthy. Accept it - move on.

Masks, vaccinations, covid treatments, social distancing, temporary virtual, are all part of that solution. The number of hospital beds filled, number of deaths, effect on children - should all be factors. Don't look only at MoCo - look ahead at where MoCo will be if you do nothing.

I hope there is never another spike. I hope that covid is over. But we should still plan - even if it's a plan that collects dust - so that if this ever happens again down the road, people know what to do.

Or, we can just keep blogging over and over again on DCUMS?

MCPS tried defining specific metrics, but those metrics would have put the entire school system into virtual, so they reversed course a couple days later, stopped sharing certain data publicly, and no longer share specific metrics. We’d all appreciate knowing the specifics of a well defined plan for moving forward, but since they won’t share the specifics and don’t have to stick to the plan anyway, this kind of uncertainty, distrust and bickering will continue.

[Anonymous]

So someone brought this zombie troll thread back from the dead?