APS taking the fingers crossed approach to reopening

[Anonymous]

Yeah vaccinations are almost but not quite useless once you are 6 months out. Hopefully they will come out with a booster for the tween/teen set soon and solve two problems.

[Anonymous]

So is the thread where we complain about APS cancelling activities until January 14? Or is that somewhere else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is the thread where we complain about APS cancelling activities until January 14? Or is that somewhere else?

I was thinking of starting a new thread on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is the thread where we complain about APS cancelling activities until January 14? Or is that somewhere else?

I was thinking of starting a new thread on it.

Started

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah vaccinations are almost but not quite useless once you are 6 months out. Hopefully they will come out with a booster for the tween/teen set soon and solve two problems.

Insane. Your child’s risk pre-vaccine was a flu-level risk.

And the vaccines aren’t “useless” after 6 months. Crazy how Zero COVID/COVIDians make the same arguments as anti-vaxxers now. It was always the next step for them anyway when they’re pushing restrictions forever even after vaccination

[Anonymous]

No, you’re right, only the J&J vaccine is almost useless (efficacy down to 13%) after 6 months; Maybe dermatology and Pfizer just hover in the 45% to 55% efficacy range which to me was a huge reduction but to you I guess is okay. https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20211105/covid-vaccine-protection-drops-study" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20211105/covid-vaccine-protection-drops-study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can I ask in all honesty, for those who are fearful of in person school and going back in Jan—what is your expected ultimate end game? Never get COVID?

I'm not fearful of in person school, but I am glad I am in a county where we are going virtual for 2 weeks.
I still am trying to avoid COVID for my family and myself.
I am certain that right now with the surge in cases our area is having, students who go to school in person in the next two weeks WILL be exposed to COVID (or WOULD BE exposed). I'd rather that not happen.

If we can make it past this surge in cases without COVID, I'll think we are pretty protected at least for a while from getting it. There will be a fire break so to speak, of herd immunity built up by vaccinations, of course, and by people's natural infections on top of that. I'm hoping not to be a part of the natural infection contingent, but I understand that other people aren't concerned about that. That's my end game, though. No COVID infection.

My goal is to keep my kids COVID free until all are eligible for a booster. The at risk under 5 child is still as vulnerable as they were last winter. The only difference is more people are too tired of the pandemic to be bothered with mitigation measures.

[Anonymous]

Look at the county-wide numbers of who in Arlington is getting Covid. It’s mostly LatinX kids and mostly South Arlington.

It is a disadvantage for the kids already disadvantaged, but classroom and individual school closures do make more sense at the elementary level than closing the whole system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh the irony that those families who take a “wait and see” approach to vaccinating their 12-15 yos are rewarded. These rules are absurd and I hope this change wakes some people up to the insanity going on. Just a note that APE has been advocating for TTS this whole time. Maybe we should start listening to them more, lol.

Agreed. 12-15 yo kids are fully vaccinated bc they have received all their vaccinations. The fact that there isn’t a booster doesn’t make them partially vaxed. Other vaccines are only available after a certain age and kids aren’t excluded before that age from school. How can we push back on this nonsense ?

Send your kid in unless they are actively sick. If questioned, you say “my child is fully up to date with all covid vaccinations recommended and authorized by the CDC for their age group. They are fully vaccinated. They are showing no symptoms and the state requires in school education”.

And what do I do a kid in their Bio class is positive and they are identified as a close contact? There is no reason my kid needs to stay home if we can show a negative test. APS seems to think otherwise.

“I am following the instructions on the APS website. My child is fully vaccinated per the CDC and is exempt from quarantine”.

The new CDC guidance also provides for quarantine for those who are more than 6 months from their second shot (w/o booster). So your statement would not be true.

SB 1303 requires schools to comply with CDC guidance. Yes, “to the extent practicable,” but I’m not sure how much discretion Youngkin will have to force schools to do something different from this recent guidance.

The VA VDOE has already instructed school districts to provide meaningful remote options for their quarantine periods, so I bet we see a return of concurrent learning for at least the first part of the winter.

I hope schools are proactive about sending home kids who present with symptoms when their F’wad parents send their sick kids to school.

The problem is my not-sick child will be exempted for 5 days for no reason when they have received all the vaccinations available to them.

Your anger and annoyance at this inconvenience does not change the science. Your temper tantrum logic makes as much sense as the person who posted “public health recommendations shouldn’t tell me to test because tests are hard to get” and Trump’s logic from the beginning of the pandemic that we’d have less cases if we don’t test.

I’m sorry for the parents of 12-15 yr olds who have largely gone back to normal and are now having that ripped out of under them. Try taking to parents of kids under 5 who, unlike your teen, can’t be left home alone or fix their own lunch during virtual school. For parents of kids under 5, the whole world had moved on without them. Your 12-15 yr olds have had 6 months of nearly normal life and socializing. My 5 and 7 yr olds were fully vaccinated just in time for winter break and had a list of places they wanted to go and play dates they wanted to have - and just as they were getting excited - all of that was taken away from them. We are ALL tired and work down. The data and the science is changing quickly. Your 12-15 yr old might miss some school while it catches up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the county-wide numbers of who in Arlington is getting Covid. It’s mostly LatinX kids and mostly South Arlington.

It is a disadvantage for the kids already disadvantaged, but classroom and individual school closures do make more sense at the elementary level than closing the whole system.

sorry, but that wouldn't be equitable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can I ask in all honesty, for those who are fearful of in person school and going back in Jan—what is your expected ultimate end game? Never get COVID?

I'm not fearful of in person school, but I am glad I am in a county where we are going virtual for 2 weeks.
I still am trying to avoid COVID for my family and myself.
I am certain that right now with the surge in cases our area is having, students who go to school in person in the next two weeks WILL be exposed to COVID (or WOULD BE exposed). I'd rather that not happen.

If we can make it past this surge in cases without COVID, I'll think we are pretty protected at least for a while from getting it. There will be a fire break so to speak, of herd immunity built up by vaccinations, of course, and by people's natural infections on top of that. I'm hoping not to be a part of the natural infection contingent, but I understand that other people aren't concerned about that. That's my end game, though. No COVID infection.

My goal is to keep my kids COVID free until all are eligible for a booster. The at risk under 5 child is still as vulnerable as they were last winter. The only difference is more people are too tired of the pandemic to be bothered with mitigation measures.

The risk for under 5 was tiny to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh the irony that those families who take a “wait and see” approach to vaccinating their 12-15 yos are rewarded. These rules are absurd and I hope this change wakes some people up to the insanity going on. Just a note that APE has been advocating for TTS this whole time. Maybe we should start listening to them more, lol.

Agreed. 12-15 yo kids are fully vaccinated bc they have received all their vaccinations. The fact that there isn’t a booster doesn’t make them partially vaxed. Other vaccines are only available after a certain age and kids aren’t excluded before that age from school. How can we push back on this nonsense ?

Send your kid in unless they are actively sick. If questioned, you say “my child is fully up to date with all covid vaccinations recommended and authorized by the CDC for their age group. They are fully vaccinated. They are showing no symptoms and the state requires in school education”.

And what do I do a kid in their Bio class is positive and they are identified as a close contact? There is no reason my kid needs to stay home if we can show a negative test. APS seems to think otherwise.

“I am following the instructions on the APS website. My child is fully vaccinated per the CDC and is exempt from quarantine”.

The new CDC guidance also provides for quarantine for those who are more than 6 months from their second shot (w/o booster). So your statement would not be true.

SB 1303 requires schools to comply with CDC guidance. Yes, “to the extent practicable,” but I’m not sure how much discretion Youngkin will have to force schools to do something different from this recent guidance.

The VA VDOE has already instructed school districts to provide meaningful remote options for their quarantine periods, so I bet we see a return of concurrent learning for at least the first part of the winter.

I hope schools are proactive about sending home kids who present with symptoms when their F’wad parents send their sick kids to school.

The problem is my not-sick child will be exempted for 5 days for no reason when they have received all the vaccinations available to them.

Your anger and annoyance at this inconvenience does not change the science. Your temper tantrum logic makes as much sense as the person who posted “public health recommendations shouldn’t tell me to test because tests are hard to get” and Trump’s logic from the beginning of the pandemic that we’d have less cases if we don’t test.

I’m sorry for the parents of 12-15 yr olds who have largely gone back to normal and are now having that ripped out of under them. Try taking to parents of kids under 5 who, unlike your teen, can’t be left home alone or fix their own lunch during virtual school. For parents of kids under 5, the whole world had moved on without them. Your 12-15 yr olds have had 6 months of nearly normal life and socializing. My 5 and 7 yr olds were fully vaccinated just in time for winter break and had a list of places they wanted to go and play dates they wanted to have - and just as they were getting excited - all of that was taken away from them. We are ALL tired and work down. The data and the science is changing quickly. Your 12-15 yr old might miss some school while it catches up.

The suffering Olympics is so tedious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the county-wide numbers of who in Arlington is getting Covid. It’s mostly LatinX kids and mostly South Arlington.

It is a disadvantage for the kids already disadvantaged, but classroom and individual school closures do make more sense at the elementary level than closing the whole system.

sorry, but that wouldn't be equitable.

It’s not equitable, but life also isn’t fair. It’s just another result of the way affordable housing is placed in the county and the way boundaries are drawn. We are a large county, not a school system with 5 or 6 elementary schools and 1 HS. Are we really going to shut down the whole school system every time there is an outbreak in one school? The way the law is written, there can be classroom and school specific closures. From a public health sense, I think that makes sense. The inequality is a symptom of a larger issue that no one seems to want to solve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the county-wide numbers of who in Arlington is getting Covid. It’s mostly LatinX kids and mostly South Arlington.

It is a disadvantage for the kids already disadvantaged, but classroom and individual school closures do make more sense at the elementary level than closing the whole system.

sorry, but that wouldn't be equitable.

It’s not equitable, but life also isn’t fair. It’s just another result of the way affordable housing is placed in the county and the way boundaries are drawn. We are a large county, not a school system with 5 or 6 elementary schools and 1 HS. Are we really going to shut down the whole school system every time there is an outbreak in one school? The way the law is written, there can be classroom and school specific closures. From a public health sense, I think that makes sense. The inequality is a symptom of a larger issue that no one seems to want to solve.

The inequality results from many things, including zoning, nimbyism, racism....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh the irony that those families who take a “wait and see” approach to vaccinating their 12-15 yos are rewarded. These rules are absurd and I hope this change wakes some people up to the insanity going on. Just a note that APE has been advocating for TTS this whole time. Maybe we should start listening to them more, lol.

Agreed. 12-15 yo kids are fully vaccinated bc they have received all their vaccinations. The fact that there isn’t a booster doesn’t make them partially vaxed. Other vaccines are only available after a certain age and kids aren’t excluded before that age from school. How can we push back on this nonsense ?

Send your kid in unless they are actively sick. If questioned, you say “my child is fully up to date with all covid vaccinations recommended and authorized by the CDC for their age group. They are fully vaccinated. They are showing no symptoms and the state requires in school education”.

And what do I do a kid in their Bio class is positive and they are identified as a close contact? There is no reason my kid needs to stay home if we can show a negative test. APS seems to think otherwise.

“I am following the instructions on the APS website. My child is fully vaccinated per the CDC and is exempt from quarantine”.

The new CDC guidance also provides for quarantine for those who are more than 6 months from their second shot (w/o booster). So your statement would not be true.

SB 1303 requires schools to comply with CDC guidance. Yes, “to the extent practicable,” but I’m not sure how much discretion Youngkin will have to force schools to do something different from this recent guidance.

The VA VDOE has already instructed school districts to provide meaningful remote options for their quarantine periods, so I bet we see a return of concurrent learning for at least the first part of the winter.

I hope schools are proactive about sending home kids who present with symptoms when their F’wad parents send their sick kids to school.

The problem is my not-sick child will be exempted for 5 days for no reason when they have received all the vaccinations available to them.

Your anger and annoyance at this inconvenience does not change the science. Your temper tantrum logic makes as much sense as the person who posted “public health recommendations shouldn’t tell me to test because tests are hard to get” and Trump’s logic from the beginning of the pandemic that we’d have less cases if we don’t test.

I’m sorry for the parents of 12-15 yr olds who have largely gone back to normal and are now having that ripped out of under them. Try taking to parents of kids under 5 who, unlike your teen, can’t be left home alone or fix their own lunch during virtual school. For parents of kids under 5, the whole world had moved on without them. Your 12-15 yr olds have had 6 months of nearly normal life and socializing. My 5 and 7 yr olds were fully vaccinated just in time for winter break and had a list of places they wanted to go and play dates they wanted to have - and just as they were getting excited - all of that was taken away from them. We are ALL tired and work down. The data and the science is changing quickly. Your 12-15 yr old might miss some school while it catches up.

Why was all of that taken away from them? Why won’t you let them have play dates? My 11 year old was recently vaccinated and we let her do all that before and still are letting her now. If anything, I feel she is more protected now that she’s recently vaccinated. And yes, my older kids are still able to hang out with friends. You sound like you have a lot of anger but it also sounds like you have been isolating your kids to the extreme.