Reply to APS- 95% in person for the fall

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not surprised.

Even the nuttiest nutters I know are sending kids back.  [/quote]
My concern is that, since their kids are back, those folks will push for unreasonable measures that are inconsistent with APS providing actual education.[/quote]

"unreasonable measures?"

What do you consider unreasonable? 
[/quote]

Not that PP, but--fixating on a certain amount of distance/capacity (6', 3') when we might be seeing a tiny number of COVID cases by then.  I expect most MS and HS kids to be vaccinated by the start of the next school year, but I also think people will push to mandate that kids get vaccinated which I think is a bad call.  (If we're heading in that direction--we should start by mandating that teachers get flu shots!!!!  There is WAY more data around this and it would benefit the kids!)  I also think a subset of APS parents are letting the perfect be the enemy of the good by obsessing over stuff like outdoor lunches, HVAC, and such.  They have made some tweaks and improvements--I would prefer that they ALWAYS allow older kids some flexibility around where they choose to eat--but I think it's overkill to spend the next 4 months harping on the same stuff.  Use that energy to do vaccine outreach![/quote]
My elementary school originally said that there would be no written work done on in person days (it would still be all on the ipad) due to the need to avoid touching contaminated surfaces/disinfecting.  They walked that back -- in fact my youngest doesn't even use her ipad on in person days -- but that would be unreasonable and inconsistent with providing education.  Masks, reasonable distancing during lunch, etc, all sounds good to me.  [/quote]

My ES kid is still on an iPad basically all day during in person days and they just removed the Plexiglass box from around the desks.  We are not follow the science here.  I am fine with masks in the fall if they are needed, but we don't make kids/adults wear masks during a regular flu season.  Many of the precautions we're taking now are fine and I fully accept and even embrace them.  I fill out the Qualtrics thing 7 days a week, we wear masks indoors, no indoor play dates, etc etc etc.  But if we are at a point where we're seeing, say, a couple of COVID cases a week in Arlington, are we still going to maintain the same level of precautions?  Even for kids who are fully vaccinated (as all MS and HS kids will have the option to be by then)?  I'm just saying that it doesn't seem worth it to me to keep debating things now when we can't anticipate what August looks like.  APS has already said they'll follow CDC and VDH guidance--if mask mandates are lifted by late August, are APS parents going to flip out if APS doesn't override and maintain them?  Experience tells me that yes, they will.  [/quote]

People generally are not asymptomatic when they get the flu and stay home or are sent home.  LOTS of people - LOTS and LOTS of kids - can be asymptomatic but have AND SPREAD COVID.  This is why masks are used for COVID and not for the freekin flu.[/quote]

Masks are used for Covid right now, and that makes sense. However, there will come a time when the masks are unnecessary. Will it be fall? Probably not. Once there is a readily available pediatric vaccine for all kids, you're going to have a hard time justifying their continued use. [/quote]
APS has said we will be masked in the fall.[/quote]

APS has said that they will follow VDH and CDC recommendations.  If those recommendations change by late August, it may mean kids are not wearing masks this fall unless APS decides to step outside of CDC/VDH guidance.  [/quote]

No one in elementary will be vaccinated. 100% ES kids will be in masks, not only to protect themselves, but the adults in the buildings. [/quote]

Every adult in the building is already eligible to be vaccinated.  If they choose not to, then that is their choice.  But why does a 4 year old wear a mask to protect a vaccinated adult?[/quote]

They can still get Covid, period. This debate is tired. The main reason we will mask kids is to protect them.[/quote]

Vaccinated people can still get COVID, yes.  Kids can and do get COVID.  I am agreeing with you.  HOWEVER, my question was an honest question.  The virus attaches to ACE receptors in the respiratory tract.  These are receptors that develop with age.  This is why younger kids have ~1/2 the chance of contracting COVID as older kids and adults.  Vaccines are VERY effective.  They reduce the risk of contracting COVID dramatically and they drive the risks of serious illness, death, hospitalization to near-zero.  SO--if we are collectively at a point in late August where we are seeing local rates of a case or 2 per week, does it still seem reasonable to make kids wear masks?  It is an honest question and something I think people should consider now, lest we have #OneAPS demanding that everyone wear a mask even if CDC/VDH say they are not needed. [/quote]

I think there are multiple people in this chain.  Nevertheless, my opinion is that we can't make that determination right now. We should be planning safety precautions according to what we know today and when mid-late August comes around, we'll see what the actual vaccination rates in Arlington are and what the CDC guidelines are at that time.  If those local rates of 2 cases per week are not in anyway connected to the schools, then it's less likely to need to continue requiring masks.  Personally, I think a flexible plan/process would be worth devising so that individual schools can react quickly should a positive case arise within it.  However, it only takes one positive case without precautions in place to turn into a pandemic - hopefully this society has at least learned that this past year - so I can also say that it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable to continue requiring masks if vaccination rates are insufficient or there are regular positive cases in the schools, even if it is one or two a week.[/quote]

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