Reply to Does DCPS care? New model shows even with masks, 40% of students will still be infected with Delta

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Reply to "Does DCPS care? New model shows even with masks, 40% of students will still be infected with Delta "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Parents cavalier or resigned attitudes is what worries me the most this fall.

We’ve heard from experts their concern about the impact Delta will have on kids. In order to keep kids healthy and in the classroom as long as possible, we all need to be in this together. [b]So many on this board refuse to listen to experts[/b] and simply shrug their shoulders.

I have an SN kid who needs to be in-person to receive services — but also has a rare disease that puts them at risk of severe outcomes if they contract covid. If not for your kid, then please for mine — take this seriously.[/quote]

This is simply not true. Experts have been quoted over and over to attest that there is no evidence that Delta is more virulent in kids, or that Long Covid is a significant risk for them. You might not agree with those experts based on what you hear on the news, but we are absolutely listening to experts.

Nobody is saying there isn’t a higher risk of transmission in schools with delta, which is obviously a problem for higher risk kids like yours. I am sorry you are facing this situation, but we cannot make policy for all children based on the needs of a few. Schools need to open full time with mitigations in place, but not those that make full time school impossible.[/quote]

The point -- which is that people aren't taking this seriously -- is backed up by numerous posts in here by comments like "oh well, kids are just gonna get it" and "I'd rather them just get it." When experts say parents should avoid having kids get covid, and parents who say they don't care about their kids getting covid are sending their kids to the same school as my child, I get worried.

I said that I need my child to be in school, so OBVIOUSLY I *want* kids to be in school. But the only way we can keep them there is if folks are committed to keeping case counts down.

This is not debatable: infections of children have been steadily increasing ([url=https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/]cite[/url]). And while experts have said we don't yet have enough data to know *if* Delta is more virulent and severe in children, they HAVE communicated caution and urged parents to take it seriously (see Surgeon General or Google for numerous quotes).

AAP believes that in-school is critical for children's learning, socialization and mental health -- but they also state that "schools must continue to take a multi-pronged, layered approach" including quarantining, testing, etc ([url=https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/]cite[/url]). Not all of those mitigation efforts are going to be in place in DC schools, and with parents shrugging their shoulders and sending their kid in anyway when they're sick, I'm not exactly feeling safe sending my SN kid in.

And oh by the way -- schools ARE in fact supposed to be making policies to be as inclusive as possible and support the needs of the few (see [url=https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/caring-for-children-and-youth-with-special-health-care-needs-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/]AAP[/url], [url=https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/]IDEA[/url])[/quote]

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