A team of CDC scientists recommended reopening schools for in-person learning in the Journal of the American Medical Association in an article published on January 26. The article cites a Mississippi study that reported schools are not superspreaders if mitigation measures such as masking and distancing are followed. The article states:
As many schools have reopened for in-person instruction in some parts of the US as well as internationally, school-related cases of COVID-19 have been reported, but there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.4 A case-control study of exposures among children aged 0 through 18 years with (n = 154) and without (n = 243) SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mississippi found that having attended gatherings and social functions outside the home as well as having had visitors in the home was associated with increased risk of infection; however, in-person school attendance during the 14 days prior to diagnosis was not.5 In the fall of 2020, 11 school districts in North Carolina with more than 90 000 students and staff were open for in-person education for 9 weeks.6 During this time, within-school transmissions were very rare (32 infections acquired in schools; 773 community-acquired infections) and there were no cases of student-to-staff transmission. Similarly, in a report released by CDC on January 26, 2021, with data from 17 K-12 schools in rural Wisconsin with high mask adherence (4876 students and 654 staff), COVID-19 incidence was lower in schools than in the community.7 During 13 weeks in the fall of 2020, there were 191 COVID-19 cases in staff and students, with only 7 of these cases determined to result from in-school transmission.
A European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report from December 2020 that included findings from 17 country-level surveys found that 12 countries reported from 1 (Latvia) to 400 (Spain) school-based clusters of 2 or more epidemiologically linked SARS-CoV-2 infections, but that overall cluster sizes were small (most <10 cases) and could often not be definitively linked to in-school vs community-based transmission. The investigators concluded that these data, together with the observation that rates of infection among teachers and nonteachers were generally similar, indicated that schools were not associated with accelerating community transmission.4
The article recommends schools continue to follow pandemic mitigation measures:
However, the preponderance of available evidence from the fall school semester has been reassuring insofar as the type of rapid spread that was frequently observed in congregate living facilities or high-density worksites has not been reported in education settings in schools. Preventing transmission in school settings will require addressing and reducing levels of transmission in the surrounding communities through policies to interrupt transmission (eg, restrictions on indoor dining at restaurants). In addition, all recommended mitigation measures in schools must continue: requiring universal face mask use, increasing physical distance by dedensifying classrooms and common areas, using hybrid attendance models when needed to limit the total number of contacts and prevent crowding, increasing room air ventilation, and expanding screening testing to rapidly identify and isolate asymptomatic infected individuals. Staff and students should continue to have options for online education, particularly those at increased risk of severe illness or death if infected with SARS-CoV-2. Rest of article.
Kingfish note: Here are the Mississippi numbers for Covid-19 patients 17 years old or younger.
Deaths under 17 years old: 2 (0.03%)
Cases under 17 years old: 36,089 (13%)
Hospitalizations under 17 years old: 152 (1.7%)
Follow proper Covid-19 mitigation procedures and put the kids back in school.
22 comments:
Focus on getting the kids educated. Mask wearing, keeping the kids in one classroom instead of packing the halls, allowing the teacher to remain at least six feet away from the students, and cutting out extracurricular activities where students engage in close contact would allow us to safely get the kids back to in-person learning.
I know 4 separate deaths caused because of multigenerational housing. Kids caught it from school, grandparents died. Retired and stayed at home. My life doesn't matter if I'm elderly?
My kids in Madison County schools and another at Mississippi state have been going all school year in person.
Kids have been back in school where I live. (Madison MS)
1:10,
The elderly matter but the kids matter a little more. Quit thinking like a Boomer.
Clinton and MC have been in person all year.
Proven to be safe if the masks are worn and a bit of distance is kept.
@1:10 pm Your anecdotal comments are fear mongering of the worst sort. You have no way to know that the kids got the virus "from school." Go frighten someone else and pedal your drivel elsewhere. Jerk.
@1:10 pm my children have been in school since august. They've both had COVID and recovered. However, as far as the multigenerational housing situation, most districts that have had in-person learning have also offered an online alternative for that very reason. There are ways to do this properly, and I commend my district for taking the steps to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for my children.
1:10. If you are elderly I hope you have gotten your free vaccine by now. I think the fact that the elderly have been at the front of the line shows that our society, does indeed, believe your life matters.
There’s nothing the government, church, mayor, or president (46 OR 45) could have done to ensure no one died of Covid-19. Still can’t. But what they did do was fund the development of treatments to make it less deadly. People die from the common cold. People die from the flu. People die in car crashes. People die every day. A pandemic has killed nearly 500k. Other pandemics have happened in history before. It’s sad and unfortunate but that’s also part of life. The world will see more pandemics that will kill more people.
@1:10 how much do you currently contribute society? The kids are the future. And their working parents are funding your social security checks and medicaid right now.
1:10 both families parents work at home. Very limited travel outside. The kids were not virtual and attending class at school. Both sets of kids got sick. Some of the family got sick, and the Grans died. I;m not trying to frighten anyone just telling yall what happened. We don't matter because we're old?
Much of this comes down to the fact that teachers really want to get paid to sit at home. That's right. I said it.
If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught all of us, it's that we now know who the f**k is essential, and who isn't. These people that closed their office for a few weeks, or "worked" from home, etc. are pretty much admitting to being non-essential.
My office worked the exact same during the pandemic versus pre-pandemic. Nobody "worked from home." We didn't close to "flatten the curve." We are essential and we freaking acted like it. These school teachers and college professors have showed me just how non-essential they really are.
Medical experts at the CDC today were asked if it is time to ease the COVID lockdowns.
Allergists were in favour of scratching it, but Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
Gastroenterologists had a sort of a gut feeling about it, but Neurologists thought the government had a lot of nerve.
Obstetricians felt certain everyone was labouring under a misconception, while Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.
Many Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while Paediatricians said, "Oh, grow up!"
Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while Radiologists could see right through it.
Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and pharmacists claimed it would be a bitter pill to swallow.
Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would "put a whole new face on the matter."
Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but Urologists were pissed off by the whole idea.
Anaesthetists thought the whole idea was a gas, and Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in politics.
@5:32. Thank you - I could not have said it better.
Well, 5:32 just proved the theory that the less someone knows about a subject, the more willing they are to tell you about it. Teachers don’t determine whether a school has traditional, hybrid, or virtual classes. The decision is made by Superintendents and School Boards only after careful consideration of all the contributing factors. Teachers understand that traditional classes are the best method for students to learn and prefer to be in the classroom, not at home. It’s absurd to think otherwise.
Yes old people matter but no one matters enough to kill our financial life. If I don't earn, my six dependents don't have what we need to make it. I will one day cease to live and that may be now or in decades. Till then, I need to earn to keep my family going. If I or an old person die then we die. I have seen almost no diabetics, obese, smoker, drinkers, sitters, lazy or dopers ever modify their behavior but it that behavior is only not going to work, all of a sudden they are true believers.
True Believers
5:32
I'm sorry Ricks Pro Truck didn't close.
4:09
Considering they all live in my house, I've contributed my part. What have you done other than telling an elderly woman she's worthless over the internet?
1:10 Your situation is clearly the exception, rather than the rule. Society isn’t quite ready to discard its seniors, I don’t think.
5:32 Your statement about teachers is wrong for 90+ %....They are genuinely essential.
Can't believe the insinuation that the elderly are expendable since they 'don't contribute'. Horse shit - Screw you people and the one you rode in on.
If need be, we can retool and reinvent our entire educational processes - but we can never replace our grandparents and their contributions.
What a generation (or two) of snot-nosed me-thinkers we have produced.
I’m @5:32. I’m well aware that it is administration, not teachers, that make the ultimate decision to close. But every teacher I knew was telling me they didn’t want to go back to work. But they were at Kroger, Target, etc. Have you seen the news where teachers talk about being scared to go back, but they were caught traveling on vacation? So spare me your crap. I don’t know one single teacher who was begging to get back in the classroom. I don’t know one that was pissed that they went home in March 2020. Not one.
This is the same community that has said:
Wear masks
No, don't wear masks (Shhhh, we want them for ourselves)
No, wear masks (now that we have ours)
Wait, wear two masks
Is this like a "double bagger?" (One bag over your head, and one over hers in case yours breaks)
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