I think school is going to be a shitshow for everyone regardless of safety protocols taken.
We needed kid vaccines back in early July. It didn’t happen. Delta has changed the game and I don’t see any way most kids aren’t going to get it.
We have several daycares shut down right now due to Covid. That never happened last year. For schools keeping track cases are already through the roof and school has only just started. At this point I’m ready to get it over with. The wait for the inevitable is excruciating.
I’m currently in line at a mass site waiting on a test for my first grader. He got a sore throat yesterday and was negative for strep/flu at the ped today.
We started back last Tuesday. He was virtual last year but my job wasn’t going to be as flexible this year so we went back.
Yesterday/today, school was canceled for weather so at least we didn’t expose anyone yesterday. He also only goes to school (no stores) and to see family (6 other adults—all vaccinated). I’ve notified all of them just in case and will reach out to the school this afternoon. We’ll figure out what to do with my older son this afternoon.
Just read this on Twitter. We need child vaccinations now!
"Australia’s low (except NSW) Covid numbers still allow effective contact tracing. Here we hear of likely child-to-child transmission in a playground, and walking together outdoors. Delta is a beast"
"Today’s COVID aerosol transmission between children update - lessons from Victorian TTI: - rapid child to child seen all the way through - likely outdoor playground transmission - shared outdoor walk home from school"
I told myself I would remain calm as long as outdoors is safe and this might put me over the edge (even though it is not definitive, I know). Fuck everything.
ETA: I don't know if Sky News is like Fox News or anything but given that it's corroborating the video from the press conference above I'll assume it's not sharing a bunch of lies.
I will officially lose my shit if they find out that outdoors is not safe anymore. I can't do it again. The only thing keeping me sane is being able to socialize outside.
Post by dulcemariamar on Aug 17, 2021 13:16:06 GMT -5
I am not surprised by outdoor transmission. Kids are basically on top of each of other when they play on the playground so my DD wears a mask at the park unless it is quite empty and she can keep a distance. I am surprised to see that it was transmitted during a walk home. At this point, I will have to invest in proper masks instead of a cloth mask.
Post by Patsy Baloney on Aug 17, 2021 13:16:11 GMT -5
I’m not wild about the possibility outdoor transmission being much, much easier with delta, but I’m trying to keep perspective. Transmission of other viruses happens outside, too. We meet outdoors for scouts and were allowed to remove masks late spring. Wouldn’t you know, I got a cold. Damn kids.
I think it’s going to take some time to shift our perspective from covid-safe to covid-safer activities. Just because a transmission like this can happen doesn’t make the activity unsafe. I’ll hope transmissions like this remain rare.
A friend of mine posted on her FB page that her youngest (in elementary school) was turned away from school because she wasn't wearing a mask. Our district currently mandates masks for everyone on district property.
My friend purposefully sent her daughter without a mask because she doesn't think masks are effective protection. But in the same post she said that she wears a mask when out in public.
I mean... I don't get it. However, her FB friends are not having it. Of all the replies, only 1 outright supports her decision. Everyone else is like "Um, no ma'am. This is reckless."
I’m not wild about the possibility outdoor transmission being much, much easier with delta, but I’m trying to keep perspective. Transmission of other viruses happens outside, too. We meet outdoors for scouts and were allowed to remove masks late spring. Wouldn’t you know, I got a cold. Damn kids.
I think it’s going to take some time to shift our perspective from covid-safe to covid-safer activities. Just because a transmission like this can happen doesn’t make the activity unsafe. I’ll hope transmissions like this remain rare.
I get this. I just need my kids to be eligible to be vaccinated. All the calculations change once they have the vaccine on board. My patience is running so thin these days. The news keeps getting worse. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can they hurry up and approve the vaccines for kids?
I’m not wild about the possibility outdoor transmission being much, much easier with delta, but I’m trying to keep perspective. Transmission of other viruses happens outside, too. We meet outdoors for scouts and were allowed to remove masks late spring. Wouldn’t you know, I got a cold. Damn kids.
I think it’s going to take some time to shift our perspective from covid-safe to covid-safer activities. Just because a transmission like this can happen doesn’t make the activity unsafe. I’ll hope transmissions like this remain rare.
Yes. Every activity has a certain risk level. Outdoor transmission being possible still doesn’t mean it’s probable. We can still layer mitigation strategies to slow the spread and prevent all of the millions of vulnerable children being infected at once.
If we can maintain vigilance, hopefully we can prevent our PICUs from being overwhelmed, which is truly the most horrific thing I can imagine after living through this past winter where there was so much unnecessary suffering for (all, not just covid+) adults who needed medical care that we just didn’t have the capacity to provide.
Post by picksthemusic on Aug 17, 2021 14:11:51 GMT -5
I just ordered some KN95s for the kids to wear to school. I'm hoping we get 2-11 approval of the vaccine before too long so we can relax the mask type a bit because those are expensive!
DH was thinking out loud about wanting to keep the kids home for the first week of school to see how things go before we send them, but I didn't think that was realistic and talked him out of it. I know he's scared, but our community is pretty vaccinated, and I know a bunch of teachers around here are vaccinated, so hoping for a calm start and no outbreaks.
I’m not wild about the possibility outdoor transmission being much, much easier with delta, but I’m trying to keep perspective. Transmission of other viruses happens outside, too. We meet outdoors for scouts and were allowed to remove masks late spring. Wouldn’t you know, I got a cold. Damn kids.
I think it’s going to take some time to shift our perspective from covid-safe to covid-safer activities. Just because a transmission like this can happen doesn’t make the activity unsafe. I’ll hope transmissions like this remain rare.
Yes. Every activity has a certain risk level. Outdoor transmission being possible still doesn’t mean it’s probable. We can still layer mitigation strategies to slow the spread and prevent all of the millions of vulnerable children being infected at once.
I’m not going to make my child wear a mask outdoors again. It’s a risk I’m gonna let him take and hope for the best.
I’m not even asking mine to mask at recess. It’s SO hot here that wearing a mask outdoors is truly miserable. She already fainted once this summer from getting overheated. Don’t need another incident!
Yes. Every activity has a certain risk level. Outdoor transmission being possible still doesn’t mean it’s probable. We can still layer mitigation strategies to slow the spread and prevent all of the millions of vulnerable children being infected at once.
I’m not going to make my child wear a mask outdoors again. It’s a risk I’m gonna let him take and hope for the best.
That’s a reasonable decision. My point is no one should be saying “well, shit, if they can get it outside now, what’s the point of doing XYZ?”
If you’re personally nervous about outdoor transmission, there are a number of mitigation strategies, beyond masking, that can be employed - visiting playgrounds at less busy times, visiting lower density playgrounds, opting for outdoor playmates whose parents are vaccinated, keeping stable cohorts for outdoor play, encouraging kids to keep moving, etc etc. if you’re not, then KOKO - being outside can still be the mitigation strategy alone if transmission remains relatively low outdoors
I just don’t want people to start giving up on whatever precautions they’re already utilizing because they feel like infection is inevitable. Because everything I’m reading about kids right now suggests infection is inevitable but we do not want them all infected at the same time if we want to minimize severe outcomes on a population level. Because the risk is not just to our own children. At some point we are accepting risk for other children too.
I’m not going to make my child wear a mask outdoors again. It’s a risk I’m gonna let him take and hope for the best.
That’s a reasonable decision. My point is no one should be saying “well, shit, if they can get it outside now, what’s the point of doing XYZ?”
If you’re personally nervous about outdoor transmission, there are a number of mitigation strategies, beyond masking, that can be employed - visiting playgrounds at less busy times, visiting lower density playgrounds, opting for outdoor playmates whose parents are vaccinated, keeping stable cohorts for outdoor play, encouraging kids to keep moving, etc etc. if you’re not, then KOKO - being outside can still be the mitigation strategy alone if transmission remains relatively low outdoors
I just don’t want people to start giving up on whatever precautions they’re already utilizing because they feel like infection is inevitable. Because everything I’m reading about kids right now suggests infection is inevitable but we do not want them all infected at the same time if we want to minimize severe outcomes on a population level. Because the risk is not just to our own children. At some point we are accepting risk for other children too.
Logging in under an AE because I need time to process what this means and I can't find much data out there... but curious about something.
I got antibody testing done yesterday as part of my annual physical (doc asked and I figured WTH) and the test came back positive with a pretty high number. What I'm trying to figure out and process is if this means I had covid or if it's coming from my vaccine (insight appreciated while I wait for the dr to call me back). Anyway - if it's likely from an infection, would you test your under 12 kiddos to see if they had any antibodies? Maybe an asymptomatic case? Might have a bit of natural immunity and might not freak out as much about them being in school....
Logging in under an AE because I need time to process what this means and I can't find much data out there... but curious about something.
I got antibody testing done yesterday as part of my annual physical (doc asked and I figured WTH) and the test came back positive with a pretty high number. What I'm trying to figure out and process is if this means I had covid or if it's coming from my vaccine (insight appreciated while I wait for the dr to call me back). Anyway - if it's likely from an infection, would you test your under 12 kiddos to see if they had any antibodies? Maybe an asymptomatic case? Might have a bit of natural immunity and might not freak out as much about them being in school....
What kind of antibody testing? Nucleocapsid or spike protein? They can help you differentiate between prior infection and versus just vaccination
Logging in under an AE because I need time to process what this means and I can't find much data out there... but curious about something.
I got antibody testing done yesterday as part of my annual physical (doc asked and I figured WTH) and the test came back positive with a pretty high number. What I'm trying to figure out and process is if this means I had covid or if it's coming from my vaccine (insight appreciated while I wait for the dr to call me back). Anyway - if it's likely from an infection, would you test your under 12 kiddos to see if they had any antibodies? Maybe an asymptomatic case? Might have a bit of natural immunity and might not freak out as much about them being in school....
What kind of antibody testing? Nucleocapsid or spike protein? They can help you differentiate between prior infection and versus just vaccination
That's what I can't figure out. I had it done last year through Quest and it was a different code and description. The code for LabCorp is 164090 which is semi quantitative spike - I thought that meant vaccine, but I'm finding alot of information that says prior infection. UGH.
Logging in under an AE because I need time to process what this means and I can't find much data out there... but curious about something.
I got antibody testing done yesterday as part of my annual physical (doc asked and I figured WTH) and the test came back positive with a pretty high number. What I'm trying to figure out and process is if this means I had covid or if it's coming from my vaccine (insight appreciated while I wait for the dr to call me back). Anyway - if it's likely from an infection, would you test your under 12 kiddos to see if they had any antibodies? Maybe an asymptomatic case? Might have a bit of natural immunity and might not freak out as much about them being in school....
I have a physical coming up and I'm going to ask about antibody testing too. I've also thrown around the idea of testing my older kids. I wouldn't have them quit masking if they were positive for antibodies, but it would give me peace of mind that they've been exposed and came out of it unharmed.
What kind of antibody testing? Nucleocapsid or spike protein? They can help you differentiate between prior infection and versus just vaccination
That's what I can't figure out. I had it done last year through Quest and it was a different code and description. The code for LabCorp is 164090 which is semi quantitative spike - I thought that meant vaccine, but I'm finding alot of information that says prior infection. UGH.
You should get a positive spike antibody result if you have been infected or vaccinated (and mounted a sufficient response/tested within the appropriate window). You’d need a negative nucleocapsid result to rule out prior infection.
That's what I can't figure out. I had it done last year through Quest and it was a different code and description. The code for LabCorp is 164090 which is semi quantitative spike - I thought that meant vaccine, but I'm finding alot of information that says prior infection. UGH.
You should get a positive spike antibody result if you have been infected or vaccinated (and mounted a sufficient response/tested within the appropriate window). You’d need a negative nucleocapsid result to rule out prior infection.
I got a "positive" result on the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S as well.
Logging in under an AE because I need time to process what this means and I can't find much data out there... but curious about something.
I got antibody testing done yesterday as part of my annual physical (doc asked and I figured WTH) and the test came back positive with a pretty high number. What I'm trying to figure out and process is if this means I had covid or if it's coming from my vaccine (insight appreciated while I wait for the dr to call me back). Anyway - if it's likely from an infection, would you test your under 12 kiddos to see if they had any antibodies? Maybe an asymptomatic case? Might have a bit of natural immunity and might not freak out as much about them being in school....
I have a physical coming up and I'm going to ask about antibody testing too. I've also thrown around the idea of testing my older kids. I wouldn't have them quit masking if they were positive for antibodies, but it would give me peace of mind that they've been exposed and came out of it unharmed.
Post by 5kcandlesinthewind on Aug 17, 2021 16:18:28 GMT -5
Our town rescinded the mask mandate for schools at the July meeting, with the caveat that it could be reinstated if the numbers went up or CDC/state guidance changes. Well, the numbers have gone up here and CDC and others say kids should wear masks in schools. But! Instead of following their own guidelines, they sent out a survey to ask parents what they want and are having a meeting tomorrow night to talk about it. Meanwhile, people on the FB are screaming about kids getting e-coli and asphyxiating because they’re wearing masks all day, and HOW DARE other parents tell them how to raise their kids?!? How the fuck do you even begin to argue with these people? I was planning on going to the meeting, because the crazies have held this town hostage long enough, but it just got moved to a smaller room to allow it to be broadcast. It’s probably for the best if I don’t go in person, because the odds of me just yelling about how we’re living in a society Constanza-style are…not zero.
Gov Lamont has kept his mask mandate in schools in place until Sept 30th (which is when his emergency powers end). They had kind of left it up-in-the-air earlier so I’m glad for the confirmation that it won’t be lifted. This takes the burden off districts and BOEs to make a decision before school starts and buys time to see how we are doing with case rates and maybe get more info on vaccines for the kids/boosters for teachers possibly.
Our district has not implemented a mask mandate, which has been so frustrating to me because we are surrounded by districts that have. Our county health department board just met and passed a measure to mandate masks for kids 2-11 in childcare and school settings. I am so fucking relieved. It goes into effect next week.
There's an added bonus in that my DS2's childcare center has not required masks for kids over two since they reopened in September last year. I am assuming they will be a part of this mandate and that he now won't be the only child wearing a mask.
Schools here don’t go back until Sept 9 but my oldest is starting K and we have orientation next week and the principals email said everyone at orientation is required to wear a mask. The school board meeting to approve the plans for masks is Thursday, there is an outspoken minority against masks but I feel pretty confident they will approve mask mandate for indoors, but I don’t think they will for the playground? We are in RI.
We are also at the tail end of a quarantine in our house as my youngest has covid. Her symptoms were mild, she did her full quarantine and she is back at camp but DD1 is in her additional quarantine and has to retest Friday to be released back into the world. I’ve had DD1 tested every few days and somehow she has remained negative which is amazing as they sleep in the same room. I am relieved that it hasn’t spread, that DD2 is fine and also that this quarantine is almost over cause I am going crazy being stuck at home.
Post by seeyalater52 on Aug 17, 2021 20:37:15 GMT -5
I just want to cry. I’m not sure if any other parents of under 2 kids are feeling as hopeless as I am right now, but my resilience for the pandemic is running very thin currently. As we approach J’s one year birthday next month he still hasn’t met one set of grandparents (who live in Florida) who are coming up here for his very small, outdoor family party. We are now considering asking all the adults to mask even outdoors (there will only be one other child who isn’t old enough to vaccinate.) Fucking delta. I can’t do this anymore.
Soo best comment from our board meeting from an insurrectionist (said he was there January 6) is that masks are a government plot to take over the government.
I just want to cry. I’m not sure if any other parents of under 2 kids are feeling as hopeless as I am right now, but my resilience for the pandemic is running very thin currently. As we approach J’s one year birthday next month he still hasn’t met one set of grandparents (who live in Florida) who are coming up here for his very small, outdoor family party. We are now considering asking all the adults to mask even outdoors (there will only be one other child who isn’t old enough to vaccinate.) Fucking delta. I can’t do this anymore.
Absolutely ask people to mask, it will protect them and also your little one.