Only my DH has had Covid. My 3 kids and I have never had it. (we are all vaxxed).

ALSO none of us have ever had strep. Maybe there is some relationship between susceptibility to Covid and susceptibility to strep, and immunity to both.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, my son had multiple strep infections way before covid, starting in K. He would get it every year at least. He’s now in middle school and hasn’t had one since covid actually.

No way. Could he have had Covid and you didn’t now it? There is definitely a link to Covid.

Anonymous wrote:As someone with an autoimmune disease,I have come down with strep throat multiple times a year since moving to MoCo pre Covid.

I've finally gotten a break during the pandemic, and it's one of the reasons I haven't stopped wearing a mask inside public places.

Kids and adults who have had Covid are finding they have an immune system unfortunately more like mine now.

I think you’re right. Covid damaged all our immune systems.

FWIW, my son had multiple strep infections way before covid, starting in K. He would get it every year at least. He’s now in middle school and hasn’t had one since covid actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah it just seems super weird to me that so many kids are getting it multiple times. This never happened when my older daughter was in elementary school. I mean strep would go around, some kids would get it and take antibiotics and that would be that. I don't know if this is still some kind of leftover immunity issue from the COVID days...or some particularly virulent strain of strep that is resistant to antibiotics??Either way it seems very out of the ordinary to me but no one is really talking about it.

Majority that keep getting it have had covid. It’s just the beginning of what having covid can/might mean for people.

Stop fear mongering.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, one of my kids has tested negative for COVID many times, yet has been hammered by strep or strep-like illness this year. Can't wait for summer and praying for a break for this kid!

Yeah maybe there’s a link to Covid, but I also know of kids who have not knowingly had Covid (and these families are relatively cautious and still test a lot) but have gotten strep multiplie times. Whereas my kids have had Covid but not strep. Who knows- I’d like to see a study on it but right now all we have is a bunch of anecdotes!

Yes, one of my kids has tested negative for COVID many times, yet has been hammered by strep or strep-like illness this year. Can't wait for summer and praying for a break for this kid!

I think the problem right now is we just don't know. We don't know the impact that multiple COVID infections is going to have on us or our children...but we also have to live our lives. All we can do is hope that with vaccinations and natural immunity that a COVID infection will become less and less serious over time. It's impossible for people sending their kids to school or going to jobs everyday to hide from COVID, we just can't. I wish there was another way than just crossing our fingers and hoping but there really doesn't seem to be at this point. I can tell you that my family is much happier now that they are living their lives and doing the activities that they love. I am still nervous about COVID but I realize unless I want to homeschool my kids and go live on a ranch in Montana, I have to just live with the background fear. I wish there was better ventilation in schools, I wish that it was the norm to have air purifiers in every classroom and every restaurant...but that's just not our reality. It does feel a little like our leaders have given up because I certainly don't hear doctors saying everything is OK...but honestly I think they aren't saying anything right now because they just don't know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.

Maybe in private schools. In most public schools and most public buildings, nothing has been done for the air quality. However, it's really sad that after 3+ years we have not made the effort to upgrade all buildings air ventilation. It would help with all airborne illnesses

Sorry, I'm only aware of my public school district, Fairfax - all schools upgraded their HVAC in 2021. Ane nearly all other local buildings upgraded their HVAC too.

Anonymous wrote:Seeing the same at our school. Peds says it's being seen in kids who had covid. Covid infection impacts your immune system, and that's why we're seeing so much now. Hard to tell what this may look like a few years down the line

Yeah a family I know all got strep around a month after having Covid (for the first time). The kids had already had strep back over the winter too.

We’ve somehow dodged strep but keep getting alerts about cases at daycare (and I know there have been sone at our ES too) so likely only a matter of time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.

Maybe in private schools. In most public schools and most public buildings, nothing has been done for the air quality. However, it's really sad that after 3+ years we have not made the effort to upgrade all buildings air ventilation. It would help with all airborne illnesses

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.

What exactly do you disagree with?

That these actions are impactful? They are.

That they don't interfere with daily life? They take a little bit of thought and planning.

That you just don't want to?

Someone dies of covid every 4 minutes right now, today, 3+ years into this mess. 1 in 10 cases results in diagnosable long covid. Studies come out weekly showing impacts on the vascular system, the brain, just about every organ in the body. Diabetes 1 risk for kids goes up 50% post covid infection. Young adults are being taken out by strokes, blood clots, heart attacks at rates never seen before.

I get that it's easier to put your head in the sand. No we can't close down forever. But we can take small actions every day that really make a difference and I think people's lives and the future health of ourselves and our children are worth it.

Estimates of the US population who have had covid range from 58-94%. In this area, almost everyone is vaccinated. Air ventilation has been upgraded in almost every public and private space.

And yes, my kids (and DH and I) keep getting sick. I do not agree with you that universal masking now is impactful, unless it's an N95 mask, which we don't have anymore.

I don't agree that we collectively in the DMV should be doing more, now, in May 2023. That is where we disagree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.

What exactly do you disagree with?

That these actions are impactful? They are.

That they don't interfere with daily life? They take a little bit of thought and planning.

That you just don't want to?

Someone dies of covid every 4 minutes right now, today, 3+ years into this mess. 1 in 10 cases results in diagnosable long covid. Studies come out weekly showing impacts on the vascular system, the brain, just about every organ in the body. Diabetes 1 risk for kids goes up 50% post covid infection. Young adults are being taken out by strokes, blood clots, heart attacks at rates never seen before.

I get that it's easier to put your head in the sand. No we can't close down forever. But we can take small actions every day that really make a difference and I think people's lives and the future health of ourselves and our children are worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.

There was federal funding for this, but many schools did not take advantage. And there were no actual guidelines for air quality and exchanges until they ended the emergency and no longer had to fund it.

We need it at restaurants, theaters, offices, doctor's offices etc as well. Should be top priority and many places have done nothing at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a pediatrician and said strep has been really really unusual this year. Seeing so much and also some very severe cases.

Covid does absolutely impact your immune system. We will be seeing the after effects very clearly in the next few years. Hopefully that will get people to take things more seriously

NP. What do you wish people do/would have done? The closures damaged mental health and caused significant learning loss for children - a weakened immune system isn't so bad compared to that.

There's a lot of space between closing down schools and workplaces and reverting back to exactly how we did things in 2019 when there wasn't a novel virus infecting everyone.

We should focus on air quality and ventilation #1 - all indoor spaces can be upgraded, especially schools. We should spend time outdoors when we can, including school. We should mask with a quality mask whenever we have symptoms of any illness to protect others. We should mask with a quality mask in most places indoors when we're in the middle of a wave. We should mask in healthcare settings and pharmacies, on public transport. We should test when we have symptoms and isolate.

You can do all of those things with minimal impact to your daily life. You can still be out there doing everything you want to do. You can be smart about this virus at the same time. It's not all or nothing.

Air ventilation has already been upgraded, including at schools. For the rest, we can agree to disagree.