@ Covid week of 7/26

[ohgillian]

Like almost all other kids, my kids have been such incredible sports about everything, barely every complaining, etc. But this AM in the car on the way to daycamp, DD goes: "I hate covid." So I talked with her about what was wrong and the two of them had a litany of justified complaints -- like DS said "I HATE the masks" and he's never said that in the entire 16 months. The whole thing just made me so sad.

BUT! Then DD said we should have a party when covid is done, and I said "definitely" and they got happy again talking about what the cake would be like. LOL.

[susquehanna]

Jul 28, 2021 16:11:51 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

Jul 28, 2021 15:37:40 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

FWIW, our district didn't allow parents to walk kids into class even pre-covid.

First day of kinder was "meet and line up at X door."

For me, it's just another thing that has changed over time since I was a kid and probably better for the students anyway. My hometown used to make a huge deal about first day during milestone years/transitions and I think they still do, which is why everyone is up in arms about it.  But it's a small, rural area and everything bad is the Gov's fault, apparently. 

I'm the oldest of five kids and my next sibling is 2 years younger than I am, and the next one after that is 4 years younger than me. On my first day of kindergarten when I was five, my mom brought my 3-year-old and 1-year-old siblings along with her when she dropped me off inside my kindergarten classroom. My 3-year-old sibling had a giant temper tantrum because she wanted to stay at the kindergarten classroom with me. It was so disruptive that I still vividly remember it. After this incident, when my other siblings started kindergarten, my mom just dropped them off at the front door of the school building.

[lilibet]

A local area has an outbreak they've traced back to a summer camp that 4 kids attended. Last total released was 15 positive cases, all family or close friends. They announced 10 positives yesterday and 5 more today. Of the first 10 all but 2 were unvaccinated, they haven't said on the newest 5.

That makes me nervous for schools if they don't require masks.

[Velar Fricative]

The latest news about delta being more contagious than chicken pox and even Ebola (see non-@ thread) is so disheartening. More like a gut punch. I need to be able to get my kids vaccinated yesterday.

[pugz]

Jul 29, 2021 21:42:03 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

The latest news about delta being more contagious than chicken pox and even Ebola (see non-@ thread) is so disheartening. More like a gut punch. I need to be able to get my kids vaccinated yesterday.

Yes can they please expedite vaccines for kids 😩

[mandymay]

Jul 29, 2021 21:42:03 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

The latest news about delta being more contagious than chicken pox and even Ebola (see non-@ thread) is so disheartening. More like a gut punch. I need to be able to get my kids vaccinated yesterday.

I liked this because I almost said that last sentence verbatim to my husband after reading the Wapo article, not because I’m happy it’s so transmissible.

[NewOrleans]

BuT wE gOt ChIcKeNpOx AnD wE WeRe FiNe

[usuallylurking]

Jul 29, 2021 22:06:54 GMT -5 pugz said:

Jul 29, 2021 21:42:03 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

The latest news about delta being more contagious than chicken pox and even Ebola (see non-@ thread) is so disheartening. More like a gut punch. I need to be able to get my kids vaccinated yesterday.

Yes can they please expedite vaccines for kids 😩

I read Israel is jumping to vaccinating kids, they aren’t waiting on the EUA. Three thoughts:
1. Maybe this will speed up our EUA for pediatric vaccines.
2. They are further into their delta surge than us, so is this because they are seeing delta hit kids harder than previous strains and have deemed the risk of non-EUA pediatric vaccine is better than the risk of continued pediatric Covid cases?
3. 70% herd immunity was before delta, I’m now seeing numbers like 84% needed to reach hers immunity. Are they realizing they need to start vaccinating the <12 demographic in order to get closer to hitting that higher threshold for achieving herd immunity?

All are my own thoughts, so don’t take them as research based, but I’d like to think they’re logical.

I’m so sad. I’m so *frustrated*. And I cannot wait for pediatric vaccines.

[dulcemariamar]

In the city where I live, they have a big fun fair at the end of the summer. It is canceled this year again but the government has been nice and they put kid carnival rides all over the city. This prevents crowding because they are spread out and they are free. My daughter had so much fun yesterday riding some rides and since people operating the rides don’t make a profit off of ticket sales they let the kids ride the rides a long time. My daughter was on the bumper cars for over 10 minutes because the guy was on his lunch break.

[pugz]

I wanna move into an underground bunker til this is over.

[raangoli]

I just want to scream into the void.

[abs]

So.

Delta is as contagious as chicken pox.

No masks in many schools. Cloth masks don't do a thing to really protect against this anyways.

No vaccines for kids because as always they haven't been a priority and neither have their parents.

We all saw this coming miles and miles away. Like this isn't brand new at this point.

We should have been mandating vaccines and expediting vaccines for kids months ago! We didn't. As it's been the whole time our kids are going to pay the price. The vaccine gets to be a choice for adults but it will never be for kids. By week 2 of school half of the kids are going to get Covid. I'm just so angry.

[1yeartogo]

Ugh, the news about Delta is just awful. I read an article about significant increase in hospitalization for children and I’m just terrified for my two kids who can’t be vaccinated yet.

My dd is supposed to go to the ymca camp starting next week-august and the same camp 1 county over had to close down this week due to a big outbreak with the kids.

I have to work FT in an office so I really have no choice. Our office is so dumb they took away our work issued laptops on June 1 and demanded FT work in office from everyone….I can see in a few weeks that they are going to be regretting that when Delta is in full force and our team/staff can’t work from home.

[jaylea]

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/

I’m so angry.

[lea]

Our local cases went from 0 to 23 (known) in two weeks, linked to daycares and summer schools/camps. The news out of Arkansas is terrifying. DD’s private preschool has already sent out an email saying nothing is changing as far as COVID restrictions (no parents in the building, masks (I’m assuming even for vaccinated staff), testing for every little symptom, daily health checks, quarantine, etc). She’s managed to stay open this entire time with only one 2-week closure for one classroom after the holidays last year so I’m not surprised she’s staying par for the course. Our municipal buildings have reinstated mask mandates so I’m thinking that makes it easier for the schools to, as well, but they won’t announce a decision until a week before school starts.

[bears]

Where are we buying children's surgical masks right now?

[tacom]

Jul 30, 2021 7:07:49 GMT -5 bears said:

Where are we buying children's surgical masks right now?

I wouldn’t bother with surgical masks. Kn94 are widely available, comfortable to wear, and provide superior protection.

Here are some reviews for adults and kids from an engineer with a background in aerosol science who runs home tests. BOTN and Bluna have been the most loved kid masks on my local covid group for a while.

youtu.be/WE5Uo3F2TdU

Buy directly from the source to avoid fakes.

[raangoli]

I have bought kids KN95 masks from Shop Vida. I even wore one and they fit my petite 5yo fine as well. I had to tie knots in her ear loops but other than that it was perfect.

Edit: they also send you a label to send the masks back for recycling once you're done. I really liked that! 

[kitty]

What is your game plan for kids with KF94 or KN95s? I have three kids who will be in school 5x per week, one of whom can’t figure out how to wipe his mouth after eating so I usually shout the inside of his cloth masks daily. Are you planning to use a new one each day? Cycle them out and keep in paper bags? Only use them if there is an active outbreak in your community or high risk situations like public transport? I feel like I’m going to go broke even trying…

[gardengal]

Jul 30, 2021 9:57:53 GMT -5 kitty said:

What is your game plan for kids with KF94 or KN95s? I have three kids who will be in school 5x per week, one of whom can’t figure out how to wipe his mouth after eating so I usually shout the inside of his cloth masks daily. Are you planning to use a new one each day? Cycle them out and keep in paper bags? Only use them if there is an active outbreak in your community or high risk situations like public transport? I feel like I’m going to go broke even trying…

I bought my older son (11yo normal sized face) these: airqueen.com/buy-now/#airbon
They can be reused & sanitized as detailed: airqueen.com/cleaning-and-reuse/
ETA: I use the adult air queen myself & really like them.

They do not fit my younger child (7yo, smaller sized face). I've ordered some MaskC (google for coupon code) based on rec here (and he will probably wear them twice, probably a day between given they are good for 10hrs of use). I've also ordered stick-on mask filters for cloth masks to see how those work. They are less than $1/filter. Probably less if you buy in bulk.

But, my younger child might also just double mask. It works well (83% effective in blocking particle if no one else masks according to articles posted on ML's Where do I find this info post), he gets to use his fun masks he already has, and it's not crazy expensive. He did last school year & while not his favorite, he did fine. He was rebelling about doing it at his (indoor) camp but when I shared with him the research on the effectiveness of various masking, he was back on board.

[akayf]

Jul 30, 2021 9:57:53 GMT -5 kitty said:

What is your game plan for kids with KF94 or KN95s? I have three kids who will be in school 5x per week, one of whom can’t figure out how to wipe his mouth after eating so I usually shout the inside of his cloth masks daily. Are you planning to use a new one each day? Cycle them out and keep in paper bags? Only use them if there is an active outbreak in your community or high risk situations like public transport? I feel like I’m going to go broke even trying…

My kids have multiples of their preferred cloth mask that fits them very snuggly. It has a slot for filters so I plan on making them use a filter.

[1confused1]

Wait? Cloth masks don't work anymore?

[sillygoosegirl]

Jul 29, 2021 23:49:33 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

In the city where I live, they have a big fun fair at the end of the summer. It is canceled this year again but the government has been nice and they put kid carnival rides all over the city. This prevents crowding because they are spread out and they are free. My daughter had so much fun yesterday riding some rides and since people operating the rides don’t make a profit off of ticket sales they let the kids ride the rides a long time. My daughter was on the bumper cars for over 10 minutes because the guy was on his lunch break.

This seems smart.  In our area like 80% of the outdoor splash pads are closed because of COVID (or at least were last I checked).  Which of course just means the other 20% are 5x more crowded.  Doh.  

[pixy0stix]

Jul 30, 2021 10:58:56 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

Wait? Cloth masks don't work anymore?

They do, but it's not as effective if everyone isn't masked.

I, personally, wouldn't want to wear a KF94 or KN95s unless it was a last resort. Those things *hurt* after you wear them all day for multiple days. Usually I'm all about the most effective, but kids are going to ditch those in a heartbeat after a couple of days.

[lilac05]

Jul 30, 2021 10:56:00 GMT -5 akayf said:

Jul 30, 2021 9:57:53 GMT -5 kitty said:

What is your game plan for kids with KF94 or KN95s? I have three kids who will be in school 5x per week, one of whom can’t figure out how to wipe his mouth after eating so I usually shout the inside of his cloth masks daily. Are you planning to use a new one each day? Cycle them out and keep in paper bags? Only use them if there is an active outbreak in your community or high risk situations like public transport? I feel like I’m going to go broke even trying…

My kids have multiples of their preferred cloth mask that fits them very snuggly. It has a slot for filters so I plan on making them use a filter.

Have you purchased filters yet? I’ve looked several times, but get overwhelmed with options and reviews and worrying about authenticity and smells. If anyone has a link, I’d be SUPER appreciative!

[karinothing]

Jul 30, 2021 7:07:49 GMT -5 bears said:

Where are we buying children's surgical masks right now?

My kids wear M95c masks (similar to KN95) from Lutema. 

They have worn them in all indoor locations in March of this year and have no issues wearing them. They say they are comfy.

Eta: they are on the FDA list of approved masks

[bears]

Jul 30, 2021 11:05:31 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jul 30, 2021 10:58:56 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

Wait? Cloth masks don't work anymore?

They do, but it's not as effective if everyone isn't masked.

I, personally, wouldn't want to wear a KF94 or KN95s unless it was a last resort. Those things *hurt* after you wear them all day for multiple days. Usually I'm all about the most effective, but kids are going to ditch those in a heartbeat after a couple of days.

Yup. As someone who has worked in chemical research, a lot of work goes on determining the least restrictive appropriate PPE for the task because using the "best" PPE on paper can restrict movements and be hot/uncomfortable, leading to lower compliance and impacting safety.

[sillygoosegirl]

Jul 30, 2021 7:00:58 GMT -5 jaylea said:

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/

I’m so angry.

Ugh.  That was even worse than I expected.  Which is saying a lot, since I pretty much always expect maximal doom and gloom.  

[SusanBAnthony]

I had been wearing an N95 before vaccination and agree they are painful to wear all day. Additionally they offer very little protection above and beyond a surgical mask IF YOU AREN'T WEARING IT CORRECTLY. Which, kids, lol. I know mine wouldn't wear it correctly. I could see using a kid's N95 if it was a shorter duration high risk exposure and i was present to help them. Like a hospital visit.

For school we will continue to use surgical masks. I've just been grabbing whatever target has.

[bookqueen15]

I don't even know what to do right now. School starts in one week here. No masking mandated in schools and even if our district mandates it (as a few others have done this week) our Governor might call a special legislative session to make mask mandates in schools against the law. Because he is the absolute worst.

My 7 year old luckily says she likes a wearing a mask and will continue too and has at camps this summer with them being optional. But I am just so worried about the Delta variant. My 3 year old had RSV as a baby, so I am even more concerned for him and there won't be any masking in his classroom. Keeping them home isn't a viable option. We're a two income household but my husband is high risk (has MS). I just feel so angry and upset right now.